AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.53.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on T. Redburn Atlantic raised AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 169.2% during the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 356.5% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 107.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of T stock opened at $22.75 on Friday. AT&T has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $24.03. The company has a market capitalization of $163.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.24%.

About AT&T

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.