AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 2.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) were up 2.5% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $21.59 and last traded at $21.45. 52,117,458 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 48,985,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.92.

More AT&T News

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fresh estimates indicate that building a nationwide wireless network would be expensive for SpaceX, reducing the near-term threat to established carriers such as AT&T. T-Mobile’s decision not to pursue an MVNO arrangement with SpaceX also suggests incumbents are not immediately embracing the proposed rival. T-Mobile, SpaceX and wireless competition article
• Positive Sentiment: Televisa expects AT&T’s planned purchase to strengthen its competitive position. A stronger strategic footprint could support AT&T’s long-term growth and operating leverage, although the transaction is expected to increase debt. Televisa expects AT&T purchase to strengthen position
• Neutral Sentiment: Wireless pioneer Ray Dolan suggested mobile internet could eventually become free if carriers monetize data collected from cell-tower sensing. The idea highlights a possible future revenue stream for AT&T, but it is speculative and unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Wireless carriers and free mobile internet article
• Negative Sentiment: AT&T’s dividend payments reportedly fell 46% while the company directed billions toward share repurchases. Buybacks can support per-share earnings and signal management confidence, but the reduced dividend is a drawback for income-focused investors and raises questions about whether capital returns are being shifted away from cash payouts. AT&T dividend payments and stock buybacks article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on T. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, September 21st. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AT&T from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised AT&T from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price objective on AT&T in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.55.

AT&T Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $144.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.96.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. AT&T had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The firm had revenue of $32.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in AT&T by 7.8% during the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 365,724 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,924,000 after purchasing an additional 26,507 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 28.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 11,367 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the third quarter worth $433,000. Compass Financial Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 12.0% in the third quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 27,472 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 4.9% in the third quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 62,438 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 2,895 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Company Profile

AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.