AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Down 2.1% - Here's Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 2.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $26.89 and last traded at $26.96. Approximately 10,227,231 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 36,448,718 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on T. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Williams Trading set a $30.00 price target on AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AT&T has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.71.

AT&T Stock Performance

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 company's 50-day moving average price is $26.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.39. The company has a market cap of $195.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. The business had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 4.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is 68.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callan Capital LLC grew its stake in AT&T by 13.0% in the first quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 32,988 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,998,517 shares of the technology company's stock worth $367,598,000 after acquiring an additional 651,813 shares during the period. Traveka Wealth LLC raised its position in AT&T by 4.5% in the first quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 11,088 shares of the technology company's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its stake in AT&T by 5.3% during the first quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 36,776 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares during the period. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T during the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.