AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 1.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shot up 1.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $28.01 and last traded at $27.9680. 53,829,681 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the average session volume of 46,595,719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.46.

AT&T News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and FY‑2026 guidance: AT&T topped Q4 EPS and revenue expectations and issued FY2026 EPS guidance, which helped spark a post‑earnings rally and has the stock up materially since the report. AT&T (T) Up 9.3% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Communications segment strength: management cited solid momentum in the Communications business (2025 revenues higher vs. 2024), supporting near‑term revenue stability. T Benefits From Strong Communications Growth: Will it Sustain?
• Positive Sentiment: Fiber strategy validated: an Ookla award and related coverage highlight that AT&T’s fiber footprint is competitive where it exists, supporting the long‑term broadband growth story. AT&T says Ookla fiber award validates strategy — ‘Where we have fiber, we win’
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell in February, reducing one source of downside pressure and signaling less bearish positioning ahead of further catalysts. (Internal short‑interest update)
• Neutral Sentiment: NYC lawsuit settled: AT&T agreed to let shareholders vote on a workforce‑diversity disclosure proposal, resolving litigation risk but increasing governance/disclosure obligations. AT&T settles New York City lawsuit over diversity proposal
• Negative Sentiment: $177M data‑breach settlement: AT&T faces a material payout tied to a past breach, which is an earnings/CF headwind and a reminder of litigation exposures. AT&T settlement update: Payout for $177M data breach
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and balance‑sheet cautions: analysts and MarketBeat flag overbought/RSI reversal risk, leverage concerns tied to recent acquisitions, and potential downside to moving averages — factors that have driven short‑term pullbacks. AT&T’s Earnings Glow-Up Can’t Hide These Red Flags
• Negative Sentiment: Recent intraday weakness and relative underperformance vs. the Dow: coverage noted a recent pullback and longer‑term lag versus the index, which may temper enthusiasm among momentum investors. Here’s Why AT&T (T) Fell More Than Broader Market

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on T. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on AT&T from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of AT&T from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on AT&T from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AT&T from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.93.

AT&T Trading Up 1.8%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $25.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $195.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.39.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.91 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 17.47% and a return on equity of 12.33%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 12th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Front Row Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 363.7% during the third quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 895 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. GGM Financials LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

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.