AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Here’s Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price shot up 0.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.35 and last traded at $22.33. 4,763,267 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 35,448,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on T. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AT&T to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.40.

AT&T Stock Down 0.2 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.65. The company has a market cap of $159.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $30.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in AT&T by 227.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91,578 shares during the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of AT&T by 356.5% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 169.2% in the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 107.5% during the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in AT&T in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Company Profile

AT&T Inc provides telecommunications and technology services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Communications and Latin America. The Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services; and sells handsets, wireless data cards, wireless computing devices, carrying cases/protective covers, and wireless chargers through its own company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores.