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

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 75,104 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 25% compared to the typical daily volume of 60,278 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in AT&T by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,810,872 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $361,779,000 after buying an additional 49,727 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in AT&T by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 1,411,031 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,848,000 after buying an additional 66,448 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in AT&T by 140.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,888,630 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $81,575,000 after buying an additional 1,689,073 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in AT&T by 749.1% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 159,598 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,964,000 after buying an additional 140,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in AT&T by 85.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 338,942 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,419,000 after buying an additional 155,728 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on AT&T from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of AT&T from $31.50 to $31.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AT&T from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.55.

AT&T News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Oppenheimer downgraded AT&T amid worries that SpaceX’s satellite broadband push could intensify competition for AT&T’s wireless and home internet business, pressuring sentiment on the stock. Why the SpaceX IPO Is Sending AT&T Stock Down Today
• Negative Sentiment: Investor attention is also shifting back to AT&T’s fiber spending and free-cash-flow durability, with recent commentary suggesting near-term cash flow and dividend coverage may remain a concern. AT&T slides as investors refocus on fiber spend, cash-flow durability, and recent analyst caution
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the FCC’s fine process in a customer location-data case, reinforcing the agency’s authority after AT&T was hit with a $57 million penalty tied to those practices. Supreme Court Upholds FCC Fine Process in AT&T and Verizon Customer Data Case
• Neutral Sentiment: AT&T also rolled out simplified fiber home-internet plans and launched a new Disney/Pixar “Toy Story 5” marketing campaign, which may support customer acquisition but are not immediate stock catalysts. AT&T Launches Simple Fiber Plans: Built for More, Sold for Less

AT&T Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of T traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.52. 50,090,297 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,409,922. AT&T has a 1-year low of $22.33 and a 1-year high of $29.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $156.45 billion, a PE ratio of 7.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $26.14 and a 200 day moving average of $25.99.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $31.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.29 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 16.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 37.25%.

AT&T Company Profile

AT&T Inc is a global telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and digital entertainment services. Its core activities include consumer and business wireless services, broadband and fiber internet, and network infrastructure. The company operates branded wireless services through AT&T Mobility and deploys fixed-line and fiber networks to deliver high-speed internet and related home services.

AT&T’s product and service portfolio spans mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and device sales, home internet (including fiber-to-the-home where available), and managed connectivity solutions for enterprise customers.