Viking Fund Management LLC Buys 26,000 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Viking Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 681,000 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares during the quarter. AT&T makes up 1.3% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $16,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in T. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,310,898,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in AT&T in the second quarter valued at about $1,223,364,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in AT&T in the second quarter valued at about $960,695,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in AT&T by 5.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 334,273,613 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,919,464,000 after buying an additional 18,468,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in AT&T during the second quarter worth about $259,954,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T agreed to sell its Mexican wireless business to a consortium of Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings for approximately $2 billion in cash, plus potential contractual and contingent benefits. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval, and should allow AT&T to concentrate capital on its U.S. fiber and 5G networks. AT&T to Sell AT&T Mexico to Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are positioning for AT&T’s upcoming earnings report, with analysts expecting earnings growth and a potential beat. The company’s existing full-year 2026 EPS guidance is $2.25 to $2.35, while the consensus estimate is approximately $2.33. AT&T Earnings Expected to Grow
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T trades at a low valuation of roughly 7.4 times earnings and offers a dividend yield above 6%, which may attract income-focused investors after the recent telecom-sector selloff. Analysts’ median price target is about $25, above the stock’s recent trading level.
• Neutral Sentiment: AT&T disclosed $60,000 of third-quarter lobbying focused on telecommunications policy, 5G deployment, the First Responder Network, tax issues and the Affordable Connectivity Program. The filing is unlikely to materially affect near-term valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership activity was mixed: 1,252 investors increased positions while 1,512 reduced them in the latest quarter. Recent analyst targets range widely from $18 to $31, highlighting uncertainty about AT&T’s growth outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Bernstein downgraded AT&T and lowered telecom-sector price targets, citing potential disruption from SpaceX’s wireless ambitions. The competitive threat could pressure pricing, subscriber growth and industry valuations. AT&T Stock Rises Despite a Downgrade on SpaceX Competition
• Negative Sentiment: A court-approved $177 million settlement related to two 2024 AT&T data breaches creates an additional legal and reputational overhang, although the financial impact appears manageable relative to the company’s size. AT&T Settlement Payout

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on T. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AT&T from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Argus dropped their price target on AT&T from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded AT&T from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.05.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of AT&T stock opened at $23.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $158.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.49. AT&T Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.89 and a fifty-two week high of $29.43.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 12.86%. The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. AT&T’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.