AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 1.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shares rose 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $24.68 and last traded at $24.5880. 35,171,263 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 51,274,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.25.

Key Headlines Impacting AT&T

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

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T is reinforcing its Hawaiian network and deploying disaster-response resources ahead of Tropical Storm Lala. The effort could strengthen customer trust and satisfaction, though the financial impact is likely modest unless it improves retention or attracts new subscribers. Can AT&T’s Disaster Connectivity Efforts Drive Customer Satisfaction?
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T’s chief marketing officer said customers with strong “brand love” are three times less likely to leave, 50% more likely to purchase a second product and less expensive to acquire. If sustained, those trends could lower churn and customer-acquisition costs while supporting revenue growth and profitability. AT&T’s CMO tied brand love to customer economics
• Positive Sentiment: One comparison concludes AT&T offers more upside potential than SpaceX based on stronger recent performance, a cheaper valuation and its 2026 growth outlook. This reinforces the value case behind AT&T’s low earnings multiple, although it does not represent a new company forecast. AT&T vs. SpaceX
• Neutral Sentiment: A post-earnings-sector review benchmarks AT&T against wireless, cable and satellite peers, offering broader context on its second-quarter performance but no clearly identified new catalyst in the available report. Wireless, Cable and Satellite Stocks Q2 Recap
• Negative Sentiment: Although AT&T has more than doubled over three years and still looks inexpensive on several valuation measures, its weaker recent performance and slower growth raise questions about how much further the shares can advance. AT&T Stock Still Looks a Bargain on Earnings but Weaker on Growth
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX’s ambitions to capture a large share of internet traffic highlight a longer-term competitive threat to traditional connectivity providers, even though current comparisons favor AT&T’s valuation and outlook. SpaceX Internet Traffic Ambitions

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

T has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded AT&T from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AT&T from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on AT&T from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of AT&T from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.19.

AT&T Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.62 and a 200-day moving average of $25.25. The company has a market cap of $170.58 billion, a PE ratio of 8.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released 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 return on equity of 12.86% and a net margin of 16.94%.The business had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The business’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in AT&T by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,488,172 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,142,000 after buying an additional 74,684 shares in the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the first quarter worth $2,901,000. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 85.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 338,942 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,419,000 after acquiring an additional 155,728 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,668,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,449,000 after acquiring an additional 59,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of AT&T by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,050,310 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119,731 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.