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

Key Points

• Analysts have given AT&T, Inc. a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy", with an average target price of $29.66 based on recent ratings from 25 analysts.
• AT&T reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $30.85 billion, up 3.4% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.96%, with a dividend payout ratio of 63.07%.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.66.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on AT&T from $29.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. HSBC cut shares of AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE T traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.61. 29,157,987 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,123,020. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $198.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.68. AT&T has a twelve month low of $18.64 and a twelve month high of $29.19.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%. AT&T's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AT&T will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of T. Keystone Financial Group increased its stake in AT&T by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 216,980 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,322,000 after buying an additional 143,744 shares during the period. Capstone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in AT&T by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 237,477 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,407,000 after purchasing an additional 63,359 shares in the last quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. lifted its position in AT&T by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 2,865,814 shares of the technology company's stock worth $65,255,000 after purchasing an additional 365,776 shares during the period. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AT&T by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 577,985 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $13,161,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

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.