AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 1.3% Higher - Time to Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) traded up 1.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $26.76 and last traded at $26.52. 11,297,274 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 36,802,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on T shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AT&T from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.24.

AT&T Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $195.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. On average, research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is 74.50%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.