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AT&T (T) Increases Despite Market Slip: Here's What You Need to Know

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In the latest close session, AT&T (T - Free Report) was up +1.11% at $29.26. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.64%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.2%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 1.15%.

The telecommunications company's stock has climbed by 5.58% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 2.91% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.91%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of AT&T in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.54, reflecting a 10% decrease from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $30.95 billion, up 2.45% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $2.05 per share and revenue of $124.98 billion. These totals would mark changes of -9.29% and +2.16%, respectively, from last year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for AT&T. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.06% upward. AT&T is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that AT&T has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.13 right now. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 20.84 of its industry.

Also, we should mention that T has a PEG ratio of 3.58. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Wireless National industry held an average PEG ratio of 3.39.

The Wireless National industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 99, positioning it in the top 41% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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