AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 2.4% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• AT&T shares rose 2.4% to $21.895, with trading volume slightly below its average.
• Analysts’ average rating is “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $27.56; 12 analysts rate the stock Buy, nine Hold, and two Sell.
• AT&T beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 5.2% year over year. Its quarterly dividend is $0.2775 per share, equivalent to a 5.1% annualized yield.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 2.4% on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $22.13 and last traded at $21.8950. Approximately 47,441,598 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 48,887,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

T has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Friday. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on AT&T from $33.00 to $29.00 in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of AT&T from $31.50 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of AT&T from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.56.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.20 and a 200 day moving average of $24.94. The company has a market capitalization of $147.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.30.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 10.19%. The firm had revenue of $32.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is 60.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in AT&T in the second quarter worth approximately $2,310,898,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,223,364,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the second quarter worth $960,695,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in AT&T by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 334,273,613 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,919,464,000 after acquiring an additional 18,468,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in AT&T in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $259,954,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Company Profile

AT&T Inc NYSE: T is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.

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