Daily Stock Analysis: AT&T

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The portfolio of stocks I started building on September 8, at a one stock per week pace for the next year, is named Vista.  I will select its eleventh stock this coming weekend. Vista is the sixth portfolio I've built (at a one dividend dog per-week pace) since 2014. Six portfolios = VI for Vista!

Vista is planned to Look Ahead for Outstanding, Proven, Dividend Winners. (Like Aristocrats)

Today we'll review the fourth of five communication services sector stock candidates vying to be that eleventh selection and first of six communication services members of the Vista portfolio.

My subject today is a large-cap telecom services outfit, named AT&T Inc. Its trading ticker symbol is T. I have included T in all of my five previous portfolios.

Wireless communication remains AT&T's largest business, contributing nearly 40% of revenue. 

As the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier, AT&T connects more than 100 million devices, including 63 million postpaid and 16 million prepaid phone customers. 

The consumer and entertainment segment (about 25% of revenue) includes the consumer fixed-line and DirecTV satellite television businesses, serving 20 million television and 14 million Internet access customers. WarnerMedia now contributes a bit less than 20% of revenue with media assets that include HBO, the Turner cable networks, and the Warner Brothers studios. 

Fixed-line business communications (14%), Latin American satellite television (2%), and Mexican wireless services (1%) constitute the remainder of the firm.

The company was formerly known as SBC Communications Inc. and changed its name to AT&T Inc. in November 2005. 

AT&T Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

I use three key data points to gauge dividend equities or funds like AT&T Inc:

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Those three basic keys best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money. 

T Price

AT&T's price per share closed at $28.62 yesterday. A year ago its price was $39.63. Price fell $11.01 or about 27.8% last year.

If AT&T's stock trades in the range of $25 to $35 this next year, its recent $28.62 price might rise by $2.38 to reach $31.00 by November 19, 2021. 

T Dividends

AT&T's most recently declared quarterly dividend was $0.52 paid November 2nd. Dividends are estimated to total $2.08 per share annually and yield 7.27% at yesterday's $28.62 closing price.

T Gains?

Adding the $2.08 annual anticipated dividend to my $2.38 optimistic estimate of AT&T Inc's price upside shows a $4.46 potential gross gain, per share, to be reduced by any costs to trade the shares.  

Put little over $1,000.00 today in AT&T Inc at $28.62 and we would buy 35 shares of T stock.

A $10 broker fee (if any) paid half at purchase and half at sale could cost us about $0.29 per share.

Subtract that $0.29 brokerage cost from my estimated $4.46 gross gain per share results in a net gain of $4.17 X 35 shares = $145.95 for a 14.59% net gain on a $1,001.70 investment.

So it goes that AT&T Inc shows a possible 14.59% net gain including a 7.27% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less.        

All of the estimates above are speculation based on the past history of AT&T Inc. Only time and money invested in this stock will determine its worth.