AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Down 6.3% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• AT&T shares fell 6.3% to about $21.95 despite a third-quarter earnings beat, with adjusted EPS of $0.65 and revenue of $32.3 billion, up 5.2% year over year.
• Operating performance remained strong: AT&T raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to approximately $2.40 and added record internet customers, but net debt increased to roughly $149.8 billion following the EchoStar spectrum transaction.
• Investor concerns include potential competition from SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile, reduced planned capital investment, and a $2.6 billion non-cash impairment charge. Analysts nevertheless maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $29.05 average price target, while the company offers a 5.1% dividend yield.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) shares fell 6.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $21.79 and last traded at $21.9460. Approximately 83,760,235 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 72% from the average session volume of 48,592,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.42.

Trending Headlines about AT&T

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

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.65 and revenue of $32.3 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Revenue increased approximately 5.2% year over year. AT&T Q3 earnings and revenues top estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to about $2.40 and reiterated its long-term growth outlook, while accelerating share repurchases and returning approximately $4.8 billion to shareholders during the quarter. AT&T third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Operating momentum remained solid: AT&T added a record 769,000 internet customers, including 442,000 fiber additions and 327,000 fixed-wireless additions, while adding 379,000 postpaid phone customers. Advanced Connectivity service revenue rose 6.1%. AT&T revenue rises in third quarter
• Neutral Sentiment: AT&T plans to reduce annual capital investment to roughly $22 billion-$23 billion in 2027 and 2028, including a $1 billion reduction in fiber investment. This could improve cash flow, but investors may question whether lower spending slows growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned about competition from SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile satellite service. The potential threat could force AT&T and other carriers to increase customer incentives or spending, even though CEO John Stankey said low-Earth-orbit networks are primarily useful for rural coverage. AT&T stock and SpaceX competition
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet pressure overshadowed the improved outlook. Net debt rose to approximately $149.8 billion after the EchoStar spectrum transaction, and management now expects to return to its 2.5-times net-debt-to-adjusted-EBITDA target during 2029.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported results included a $2.6 billion non-cash impairment charge related to AT&T’s held-for-sale Mexico wireless business, weighing on net income and adding to investor concerns about the quality of reported profit.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Scotiabank cut their price target on AT&T from $27.50 to $26.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AT&T from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on AT&T from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded AT&T from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.05.

AT&T Trading Down 6.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.33.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $32.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.69 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 12.86%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co boosted its position in AT&T by 331.8% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,494 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Company Profile

AT&T Inc NYSE: T is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.

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