AT&T (NYSE:T) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of AT&T (NYSE:T) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on T. Scotiabank upped their price target on AT&T from $28.50 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, April 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $28.50 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.24.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE T opened at $27.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $194.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $26.80 and its 200-day moving average is $24.11. AT&T has a 12-month low of $16.09 and a 12-month high of $29.03.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. Sell-side analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Next Level Private LLC boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 0.3% during the first quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 113,379 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,206,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 24,161 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of AT&T by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 4,617 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,114 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charter Oak Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC now owns 15,246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Company Profile

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.