Short Interest in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Drops By 19.1%

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 90,970,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the March 31st total of 112,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 44,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company's shares are short sold.

AT&T Stock Performance

T traded up $0.71 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 32,462,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,338,595. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $27.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.60. The firm has a market cap of $203.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T has a one year low of $16.91 and a one year high of $29.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. The company had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. AT&T's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 7.1% in the first quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the technology company's stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Next Level Private LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 0.3% in the first quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 113,379 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,206,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its stake in AT&T by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 24,161 shares of the technology company's stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in AT&T by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 4,617 shares of the technology company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in AT&T by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 114,324 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on T. Barclays upped their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AT&T from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.71.

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.