AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Short Interest Down 21.3% in April

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 82,720,000 shares, a decline of 21.3% from the March 31st total of 105,150,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 39,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on T shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of AT&T from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.81.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:T traded up $0.17 on Friday, reaching $16.75. 37,852,681 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,190,348. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.57. AT&T has a fifty-two week low of $13.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.16. The business's 50-day moving average is $16.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. AT&T had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The firm had revenue of $30.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. AT&T's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AT&T will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.63%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 16,250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. First Pacific Financial raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 166.7% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,600 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lipe & Dalton bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company's stock.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc provides telecommunications and technology services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Communications and Latin America. The Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services; and sells handsets, wireless data cards, wireless computing devices, carrying cases/protective covers, and wireless chargers through its own company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores.