Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 53,796 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates increased its AT&T stake by 10.7% in the second quarter, adding 53,796 shares to bring its holdings to 554,945 shares valued at approximately $11.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.1% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with AT&T receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $29.19, compared with the stock’s opening price of $25.92.
• AT&T exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.65 in EPS versus the $0.59 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 2.3% year over year to $31.56 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.2775, equivalent to a 4.3% annual yield.

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 10.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 554,945 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 53,796 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in AT&T were worth $11,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Blueline Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Winnow Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 362.8% in the 4th quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on AT&T from $31.00 to $29.25 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $30.00 price objective on AT&T in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded AT&T from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.19.

AT&T Price Performance

T stock opened at $25.92 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $177.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.23. AT&T Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.89 and a 1 year high of $29.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.21.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 12.86% and a net margin of 16.94%.The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc is a global telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and digital entertainment services. Its core activities include consumer and business wireless services, broadband and fiber internet, and network infrastructure. The company operates branded wireless services through AT&T Mobility and deploys fixed-line and fiber networks to deliver high-speed internet and related home services.

AT&T's product and service portfolio spans mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and device sales, home internet (including fiber-to-the-home where available), and managed connectivity solutions for enterprise customers.

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