AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 1% - Time to Buy?

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) traded up 1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.82 and last traded at $24.79. 6,895,538 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 37,161,301 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.33.

AT&T Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $183.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.96.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. AT&T's payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AT&T by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE increased its position in AT&T by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. 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.