Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock

AT&T (NYSE:T - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the technology company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on T. DZ Bank raised AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $30.00 price objective on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.71.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of AT&T stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.37. 11,065,001 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,356,910. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.98 and a 200-day moving average of $24.39. AT&T has a 1 year low of $16.73 and a 1 year high of $29.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). The business 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect 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 Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.10%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of T. Next Level Private LLC lifted its stake in AT&T by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 113,379 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,206,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its position in AT&T by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 24,161 shares of the technology company's stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 4,617 shares of the technology company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 114,324 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,222,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,114 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.