AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 2.1% on Earnings Beat

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shares shot up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $22.09 and last traded at $21.96. 12,949,579 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 35,458,547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.50.

The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The business had revenue of $30.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on T. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of T. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 17.2% in the third quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 142,623 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after purchasing an additional 20,950 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 8.1% in the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 21,087 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 13.9% in the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 44,122 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 5,387 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 23.0% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 66,682 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 12,490 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 2.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 84,748 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Trading Down 1.6 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $156.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.60.

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.