AT&T (NYSE:T) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $22.76 and last traded at $22.76, with a volume of 278460 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

T has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen upped their price target on AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.40.

AT&T Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.84. The company has a market capitalization of $163.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. AT&T’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. AT&T’s payout ratio is 90.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in AT&T by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91,578 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in AT&T by 356.5% during the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC raised its holdings in AT&T by 107.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Company Profile

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.