AT&T (NYSE:T) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• AT&T shares reached a new 52-week high at $29.69, with significant trading volume of over 14 million shares.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets upward, including Sanford C. Bernstein raising its target to $32.00 and Citigroup maintaining a "buy" rating.
• AT&T recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.8%.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $29.67 and last traded at $29.69, with a volume of 14506511 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

T has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. HSBC lowered AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $31.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.55.

AT&T Stock Up 1.8%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $28.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in AT&T in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,266,758,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,228,655,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,072,128,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 17.7% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 113,957,259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,222,711,000 after buying an additional 17,177,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in AT&T by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,432,827 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,216,665,000 after acquiring an additional 12,881,578 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.

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