AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 0.1% Higher - Here's Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $27.75 and last traded at $27.74. 10,049,029 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 36,307,950 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

T has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.71.

AT&T Trading Down 1.2 %

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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.56. The company has a market cap of $196.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a PEG 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $30.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. Analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is 68.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,858,418,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 31.8% in 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 valued at $1,216,665,000 after buying an additional 12,881,578 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in AT&T by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 78,148,354 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,779,438,000 after buying an additional 10,945,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in AT&T by 4,986.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,913,960 shares of the technology company's stock worth $225,741,000 after buying an additional 9,719,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

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.