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AT&T (T) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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AT&T (T - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $29.65, moving +1.93% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.66%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.99%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.63%.

Heading into today, shares of the telecommunications company had lost 12.96% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 10.48% and the S&P 500's loss of 8.1% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from T as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 30, 2019. In that report, analysts expect T to post earnings of $0.84 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 7.69%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $48.32 billion, up 15.93% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.52 per share and revenue of $174.74 billion, which would represent changes of +15.41% and +8.84%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for T should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.21% higher. T is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, T is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 8.27. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 36.84.

Also, we should mention that T has a PEG ratio of 2.32. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. T's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.29 as of yesterday's close.

The Wireless National industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 60, which puts it in the top 24% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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