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

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.40.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on T shares. Scotiabank downgraded shares of AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

AT&T Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of T opened at $22.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $164.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.59. AT&T has a one year low of $15.85 and a one year high of $23.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.79. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $30.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 227.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE increased 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC boosted its position in AT&T by 107.5% during the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.