AT&T Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:T)

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

AT&T Price Performance

NYSE T traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $22.69. 43,626,345 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,160,289. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $162.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.59. AT&T has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $24.03.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is 90.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Argus raised AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of T. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 169.2% in the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.