AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Up 0.6% – What’s Next?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s share price shot up 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $26.04 and last traded at $26.02. 10,068,070 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 36,840,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on T shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer began coverage on AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.33.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. As a group, equities analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in AT&T by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 26,161 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. BNP Paribas grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 41,716 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 59,394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 12,383 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

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.