AT&T (NYSE:T) Downgraded by HSBC to Hold

HSBC cut shares of AT&T (NYSE:T - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $30.00 price target on the technology company's stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on T. Oppenheimer upped their target price on AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on AT&T from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AT&T from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.37.

AT&T Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE T traded up $0.26 on Thursday, reaching $28.18. The company had a trading volume of 4,509,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,965,258. The stock's 50 day moving average is $27.80 and its 200-day moving average is $26.58. The stock has a market cap of $202.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. AT&T has a 52 week low of $18.64 and a 52 week high of $29.19.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%. The firm had revenue of $30.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.10%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of T. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 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.