AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Down 0.3% - What's Next?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) dropped 0.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $27.44 and last traded at $27.71. Approximately 7,368,684 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 40,695,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

T has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. DZ Bank raised AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Williams Trading set a $30.00 price objective on AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.71.

AT&T Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $198.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.00.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. The firm had revenue of $30.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $1,858,418,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the first quarter worth $1,072,128,000. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,779,385 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,203,667,000 after acquiring an additional 26,280,866 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,216,665,000 after acquiring an additional 12,881,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 30,527.5% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 11,959,440 shares of the technology company's stock worth $338,213,000 after acquiring an additional 11,920,392 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Company Profile

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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