AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.36.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on T shares. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. KeyCorp upgraded AT&T from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Arete lowered AT&T from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.50 target price on shares of AT&T in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

AT&T Stock Down 1.0%

T opened at $23.50 on Friday. AT&T has a fifty-two week low of $21.98 and a fifty-two week high of $29.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.60.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. AT&T had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 17.87%.The company had revenue of $30.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. AT&T’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AT&T will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is 36.04%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Front Row Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. lifted its position in AT&T by 363.7% in the third 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 during the last quarter. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 412.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 973 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC raised its position in AT&T by 217.3% in the second quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 952 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.