AT&T Stock Downgraded Despite Addition Of DirecTV

AT&T Inc. was downgraded to neutral from buy at BRG on Friday, with analyst James Ratcliffe saying that while the company remains "fundamentally healthy," he doesn't see much more upside to the stock. The analyst maintained a $41 12-month price target on the stock, which implies a slight decline from its closing stock price of $41.88 on Thursday. Shares of AT&T fell 2% to $40.95 on Friday, largely related to a global selloff following Britain's exit from the European Union. The average rating on the stock among a poll of roughly 20 analysts surveyed by FactSet is the equivalent to buy, while the median price target is $40.69. Ratcliffe continues to be bullish on the company's ability to grow earnings per share. He also said that AT&T's $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV, which was approved by the FCC last summer, will help to accelerate growth and possibly generate more synergies than expected.