AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Down 1.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• AT&T's stock price declined by 1.6% to $28.98, with trading volume significantly lower than its average, at 5,700,154 shares compared to 36,976,484 shares.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on AT&T, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $30.21, while several brokerages recently upgraded their price targets.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.9%, with a payout ratio of 63.07%.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) fell 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $28.98 and last traded at $28.98. 5,700,154 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 36,976,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on T. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Williams Trading set a $30.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.21.

AT&T Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $205.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.81.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%.The company had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in T. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of AT&T by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,579 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 10,188 shares in the last quarter. Yoffe Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,000. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 134,950 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,073,000 after acquiring an additional 17,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 6,886 shares of the technology company's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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