AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Up 1% – Still a Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s share price was up 1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $25.32 and last traded at $24.67. 57,282,534 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 51,392,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.42.

Key AT&T News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T expanded its agreement with D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ: QBTS) to deploy quantum-annealing technology across network operations, including outage detection, technician routing, traffic management and other optimization tasks. Initial testing reportedly reduced a network optimization process from roughly one hour to 15 seconds, highlighting potential efficiency gains. D-Wave Wins Wider AT&T Deal After 15-Second Test
• Positive Sentiment: The agreement reinforces AT&T’s broader artificial-intelligence strategy. Faster network planning, outage response and traffic management could eventually lower operating and capital costs, although the company has not disclosed a specific financial benefit from the D-Wave expansion. Quantum Computing Is Helping AT&T Solve Network Problems in Seconds
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings remain a key support for the stock. AT&T reported adjusted earnings of $0.65 per share, above the $0.59 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 2.3% year over year. Management also raised its 2026 share-repurchase plan to approximately $10 billion, improving the shareholder-return outlook. AT&T Beat on Earnings and Announced a $10 Billion Buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and income-focused investors continue to view AT&T as a relatively inexpensive, high-yield telecom stock, with a forward outlook centered on fiber growth, cash-flow generation and its dividend. The company’s low valuation supports the shares, but also reflects AT&T’s sizable debt burden and mature-growth profile. AT&T: Keep Adding This Reliable Income Provider
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that satellite-based connectivity could intensify competition in wireless services. AT&T is viewed as competitive, but the technology may pressure pricing or reduce the differentiation of traditional mobile networks over time. AT&T Remains Competitive Despite Satellite Connectivity Concerns

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lowered AT&T from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AT&T from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $30.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.19.

AT&T Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $22.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.24. The firm has a market cap of $169.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.24.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.80 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 12.86% and a net margin of 16.94%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in T. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AT&T by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,055,700 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,495,144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,585,661 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in AT&T by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 332,089,723 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,249,109,000 after purchasing an additional 8,314,678 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in AT&T by 4.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 125,191,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,629,307,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449,222 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $2,181,977,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 12.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 72,764,509 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,109,443,000 after purchasing an additional 8,197,935 shares during the period. 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.