AT&T Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• AT&T experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with 80,293 contracts purchased on Monday, up 41% from its average volume.
• The company reported earnings of $0.54 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.53, alongside a 3.4% year-over-year revenue growth.
• AT&T declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, with a payout ratio of 63.07%, and the dividend will be paid to investors on November 3rd.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 80,293 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 41% compared to the typical daily volume of 56,817 call options.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:T traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.08. 66,070,359 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,763,617. The stock has a market cap of $186.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. AT&T has a twelve month low of $21.05 and a twelve month high of $29.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.80.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $30.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that AT&T will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. AT&T's payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on T. Scotiabank set a $30.25 target price on shares of AT&T and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. HSBC lowered shares of AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.65.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in AT&T by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 324,104 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $9,380,000 after buying an additional 4,793 shares during the period. Kickstand Ventures LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth about $489,000. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 722,568 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,910,000 after purchasing an additional 9,970 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 180.5% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 114,091 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 73,417 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,109,933 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,389,000 after purchasing an additional 102,419 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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