Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates Sector Perform Rating for AT&T (NYSE:T)

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of AT&T (NYSE:T - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $17.00 price objective on the technology company's stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on T. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of AT&T from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AT&T from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer raised AT&T from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on AT&T from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $20.68.

AT&T Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:T traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $16.43. 40,801,386 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,412,906. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business's 50-day moving average price is $17.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.44. AT&T has a 1 year low of $13.43 and a 1 year high of $19.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.57.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.44 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.76%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of T. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 16,250.0% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Company Profile

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.