AT&T (NYSE:T) Lowered to Sell Rating by Arete

Arete downgraded shares of AT&T (NYSE:T) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $20.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on T. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on AT&T from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Arete Research set a $20.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.45.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of T opened at $24.34 on Tuesday. AT&T has a twelve month low of $21.38 and a twelve month high of $29.79. The company has a market capitalization of $172.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.96 and a 200 day moving average of $26.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.54. The business had revenue of $30.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.85 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 17.87%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of T. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 363.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 895 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC increased its holdings in AT&T by 217.3% in the 2nd quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 952 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Company Profile

AT&T Inc is a global telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and digital entertainment services. Its core activities include consumer and business wireless services, broadband and fiber internet, and network infrastructure. The company operates branded wireless services through AT&T Mobility and deploys fixed-line and fiber networks to deliver high-speed internet and related home services.

AT&T’s product and service portfolio spans mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and device sales, home internet (including fiber-to-the-home where available), and managed connectivity solutions for enterprise customers.