AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 1.9% – Here’s Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $23.84 and last traded at $23.4850. 44,547,088 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 48,559,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.05.

AT&T News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mexico divestiture sharpens capital allocation: AT&T agreed to sell its Mexican wireless business to Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings for $2 billion in cash, plus potential additional benefits. The transaction, expected to close in early 2027 pending approvals, should allow AT&T to concentrate investment on its U.S. fiber and 5G networks. AT&T to Sell AT&T Mexico to Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Fiber expansion gains scale: AT&T’s $5.75 billion purchase of Lumen Technologies’ consumer fiber business adds more than 1 million subscribers and over 4 million locations. Buying established networks could accelerate broadband growth and support bundled wireless and internet offerings, though investors will assess whether the acquisition creates more value than internally building fiber. AT&T: Does Buying Fiber Create More Value Than Building It?
• Positive Sentiment: Customer-service initiative supports retention: AT&T expanded its “America’s Best Guarantee,” promising access to an expert within five minutes or a scheduled callback, along with dedicated support for customers combining fiber or Internet Air with wireless service. The move may improve customer satisfaction and reduce churn, although its direct financial impact is uncertain. AT&T Expands America’s Best Guarantee
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings optimism: Analysts expect AT&T’s upcoming results to benefit from favorable earnings trends and potential upside to estimates. Investors are also weighing management’s evolving emphasis on growth and network investment against the company’s debt-reduction priorities. AT&T Earnings Expected to Grow
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX-related competition pressures wireless stocks: Reports linking SpaceX to spectrum or satellite-based connectivity developments have weighed on AT&T and other carriers by raising concerns about future competition. Some commentary views the selloff as a potential buying opportunity, but the technology’s longer-term impact on AT&T’s wireless economics remains unclear. AT&T Stock Got Crushed by SpaceX News
• Negative Sentiment: Data-breach settlement adds a legal overhang: A court approved a $177 million settlement related to two 2024 AT&T data breaches. The payment is unlikely to alter the company’s overall investment thesis, but it reinforces cybersecurity and reputational risks. AT&T Settlement Payout

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Argus decreased their price target on shares of AT&T from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on AT&T from $27.50 to $26.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised AT&T from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.05.

AT&T Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.75%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

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

AT&T Company 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.