Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on AT&T (NYSE:T)

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 679,118 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,005% compared to the average daily volume of 61,437 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.76.

AT&T Price Performance

NYSE:T opened at $22.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.83 and a 200-day moving average of $21.18. AT&T has a 52 week low of $15.94 and a 52 week high of $24.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in AT&T by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 91,578 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its position in AT&T by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.