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

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 79,935 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 30% compared to the average daily volume of 61,363 call options.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:T traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $22.98. The company had a trading volume of 22,342,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,342,730. AT&T has a fifty-two week low of $15.94 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.59.

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

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.24%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in AT&T by 227.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 91,578 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake in AT&T by 356.5% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its holdings in AT&T by 169.2% during the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC boosted its position in AT&T by 107.5% during the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on T. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their target price on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AT&T to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.40.

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.