AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, eighteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.33.

T has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $28.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE T opened at $26.60 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.46. AT&T has a 52-week low of $15.94 and a 52-week high of $27.16. The firm has a market cap of $190.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. Research analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

About AT&T

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.