AT&T (NYSE:T) Price Target Raised to $32.00

AT&T (NYSE:T - Free Report) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the technology company's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Williams Trading set a $30.00 price objective on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Tigress Financial upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.17.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of AT&T stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.92. 27,403,482 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,405,886. The stock has a market cap of $193.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $27.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.44. AT&T has a 12 month low of $18.14 and a 12 month high of $29.19.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 9.64% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The company had revenue of $30.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. AT&T's payout ratio is 68.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the second quarter worth about $5,266,758,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth about $1,858,418,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the first quarter worth about $1,072,128,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 26,280,866 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted 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 worth $1,216,665,000 after purchasing an additional 12,881,578 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

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.