Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of AT&T Call Options (NYSE:T)

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 79,935 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 30% compared to the average volume of 61,363 call options.

AT&T Price Performance

NYSE:T opened at $23.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.92. AT&T has a 52-week low of $15.94 and a 52-week high of $23.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $166.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $30.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. AT&T’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 4.79%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on T. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,581 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 12,772 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank grew its stake in AT&T by 12.2% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 17,369 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 1,893 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,053,591 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,178,000 after acquiring an additional 11,895 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 44,880 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 12,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its position in AT&T by 518.9% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 989,888 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $21,778,000 after purchasing an additional 829,950 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

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.