AT&T (NYSE:T) Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada to Outperform Rating

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of AT&T (NYSE:T) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has $26.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $22.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on AT&T in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.76.

AT&T Trading Down 0.4 %

T opened at $22.59 on Monday. AT&T has a 52 week low of $15.94 and a 52 week high of $24.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.14. The firm has a market cap of $162.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AT&T will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 90.24%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 1.9% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 24,304 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Socha Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in AT&T by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Socha Financial Group LLC now owns 18,847 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in AT&T by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,468 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank lifted its stake in AT&T by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 21,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Hayek Kallen Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 60,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.