AT&T (NYSE:T) Releases Earnings Results

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.39 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%.

AT&T Trading Down 2.7 %

AT&T stock traded down $0.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 37,042,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,505,396. The stock's fifty day moving average is $26.96 and its 200 day moving average is $24.33. AT&T has a 1-year low of $16.73 and a 1-year high of $29.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on T shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank upgraded 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 Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.62.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in AT&T stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,579 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,188 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $1,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Hedge funds and other 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.