AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 1% – Still a Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s share price shot up 1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $29.07 and last traded at $28.97. 38,316,955 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 46,335,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.67.

Key Stories Impacting AT&T

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

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T closed the Lumen fiber transaction ahead of schedule, immediately adding >1M subs and expanding AT&T Fiber reach (management now cites ~36M locations reached and an aggressive build target to scale further), which supports revenue growth and bundling opportunities. What’s Going On With AT&T Stock Tuesday?
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T has deepened AI and open-network partnerships (OCUDU founding membership, GSMA Open Telco AI, H2O.ai royalty/milestone agreement, Geoforce collaboration) and is testing Cloud RAN with Ericsson — moves that investors see as positioning AT&T to lower network costs and create new software/AI revenue streams. AT&T continues Open RAN overhaul, builds on Ericsson partnership with Cloud RAN tests AT&T Deepens AI And Open Network Push As Valuation Gap Persists
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlights operational gains: CEO/exec comments at MWC and conferences claim large AI-driven efficiency improvements and AT&T launched a Connected AI smart manufacturing platform — signals of potential margin improvement if AI cost saves scale. AT&T CEO John Stankey says AI made the company 40% more efficient. T Introduces Smart Manufacturing Solution
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media attention is elevated — Zacks/Yahoo pieces note T is a trending name and up ~9.5% over the past year — increasing investor focus but offering mixed near-term signals (interest ≠ valuation upgrade). AT&T Shares Rise 9.5% in a Year: Should You Invest Now? AT&T Inc. (T) Is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: AT&T is reportedly planning phone-plan changes for 2026; product/price changes could help churn/revenue mix but impact is uncertain until details and uptake are known. AT&T may finally be refreshing its phone plans
• Negative Sentiment: Debt load and competitive pressures remain meaningful risks (analysts repeatedly cite leverage and wireless/fiber competition). Retail sentiment and residual PR from past large losses also weigh on sentiment. Separately, governance scrutiny and a recent settlement with NYC pension funds keep oversight headlines in play. AT&T Inc. (T) Is a Trending Stock Reddit Is Still Furious About AT&T’s $47 Billion Loss AT&T Balances Open Source Telecom AI Push With Governance Scrutiny

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on T shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.50 price objective on shares of AT&T in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of AT&T from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on AT&T from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.93.

AT&T Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $202.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.34.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.91 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 17.47% and a return on equity of 12.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 12th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. AT&T’s payout ratio is presently 36.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AT&T by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,055,700 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,495,144,000 after buying an additional 3,585,661 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in AT&T by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 332,089,723 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,249,109,000 after buying an additional 8,314,678 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 172,039,872 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,958,066,000 after acquiring an additional 2,066,026 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 119,742,478 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,974,403,000 after buying an additional 4,079,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter worth $2,181,977,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AT&T

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.