AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price rose 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $27.49 and last traded at $27.20. Approximately 11,071,724 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 38,360,988 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on T. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley raised AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Argus raised AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.33.

AT&T Stock Up 2.0 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.91 and a 200 day moving average of $22.56. The company has a market capitalization of $197.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of T. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AT&T

AT&T, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of telecommunications and technology services. It operates through the Communications and Latin America segments. The Communications segment offers wireless, wireline telecom, and broadband services to businesses and consumers located in the US and businesses globally.