AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Down 1% – Here’s Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) fell 1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $21.05 and last traded at $21.44. 12,088,910 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 35,393,918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on T. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.69.

AT&T Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $154.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.70.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.57. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 10.41%. The company had revenue of $29.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is 63.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of T. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth about $23,888,000. Talbot Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the third quarter worth about $7,438,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of AT&T by 12.2% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,641,856 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,486,000 after purchasing an additional 288,093 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 642.2% during the second quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 104,309 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 90,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 4.3% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,037,529 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,827,000 after purchasing an additional 43,062 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently 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.