Back to top

Image: Bigstock

AT&T (T) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

AT&T (T - Free Report) closed at $27.57 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.88% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.85%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the telecommunications company had lost 3.05% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.96% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.37% in that time.

T will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 21, 2021. On that day, T is projected to report earnings of $0.78 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 2.63%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $41.38 billion, down 2.28% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.32 per share and revenue of $171.47 billion. These totals would mark changes of +4.4% and -0.17%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for T should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.06% lower. T is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note T's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 8.24. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 40.18, so we one might conclude that T is trading at a discount comparatively.

Meanwhile, T's PEG ratio is currently 2.13. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Wireless National industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.13 as of yesterday's close.

The Wireless National industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 218, putting it in the bottom 15% 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.

To follow T in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


AT&T Inc. (T) - free report >>

Published in