AT&T Inc, known by the ticker symbol T, is a large cap telecom services firm in the Communication Services business sector. This is my first report on T for my Viital stock portfolio but it has been selected in most of the previous six portfolios. The company was formerly known as SBC Communications Inc. and changed its name to AT&T Inc. in November 2005.

Wireless is AT&T's largest business, contributing about 40% of revenue. The firm is the third- largest U.S. wireless carrier, connecting 66 million postpaid and 17 million prepaid phone customers. 

WarnerMedia contributes a bit less than 20% of revenue with media assets that include HBO, the Turner cable networks, and the Warner Brothers studios.  AT&T plans to spin Warner off and merge it with Discovery to create a new stand-alone media firm. The firm recently sold a 30% stake in its traditional television business, which serves 15 million customers and generates about 17% of sales. This business will be removed from AT&T's financials going forward. 

Fixed-line telecom services provided to businesses and consumers account for about 20% of revenue, serving about 15 million broadband customers.

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

Three key data points gauge dividend equities or funds like AT&T Inc: (1) Price (2) Dividends (3) Returns

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

T Price

AT&T 's price per share was $25.70 as of Friday's market close. One year ago its price was $26.88. So, T's share price fell flat by 4.4% in the past year.

If AT&T's stock trades in the range of $25 to $35.00 this next year, its recent $25.70 price will likely rise by $4.30 by October 18, 2022. My estimate is based on the trajectory traced by the past ten years of price data and is $2.11 lower than the median of 21 analysts one-year target estimates following the stock for brokerages.  

T Dividends

AT&T's most recent Q dividend of  $0.52 will pay out November 1, to shareholders. That equates to and annual payout of $2.08  and yields 8.09% based on Friday's $25.70 closing price. AT&T has paid regular increasing annual dividends since August, 1987. That's 34 years. The record of increases will end this quarter. It is likely the T dividend will be cut in half as the business divests itself of some content technologies by year's end.

T Returns

Adding the $1.04 annual estimated  AT&T forward-looking dividend to my $4.30 price upside estimate shows a $5.34 potential gross gain, per share, to be reduced by any costs to trade T shares.  

At yesterday's $25.70 price per share, a little over $1000 would buy 39 shares.

A $10 broker fee (if charged) would be paid half at purchase and half at sale and might cost us about $0.26 per share.

Subtract that maybe $0.26  brokerage cost from my estimated $5.34 gross gain per share results in a net gain of $5.08 X 39 shares = $198.12 for a 19.8% net gain on a $1,002.30 investment.

So it is that AT&T Inc (T) shows a possible 19.8% net gain including a 4.04% forward estimated dividend yield. 

Over the next year at this time a $1000 investment in AT&T Inc (T) could generate $40.40 in cash dividends alone. And a single share bought at yesterday's closing price was $25.70! Thus, T's share price is $14.70 less than the dividend income from $1K invested. So, according to my dogcatcher ideal, now is the time to pick up T shares. The estimated next year dividend from $1k invested is over $17.70 greater than the single share price. Consider yourself alerted. It's a sign! But beware of T's pending dividend cut - it could be more or less than my estimated 50%.

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