Investors Buy Large Volume of AT&T Call Options (NYSE:T)

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 102,083 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 56% compared to the typical daily volume of 65,277 call options.

AT&T Stock Up 0.7 %

T opened at $22.69 on Friday. AT&T has a one year low of $15.94 and a one year high of $24.03. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $162.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.41.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that AT&T will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in T. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 169.2% during 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. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on T. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer started coverage on AT&T in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Argus raised shares of AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.83.

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.