AT & T has emerged as a Wall Street favorite ahead of the upcoming earnings release cycle. Just two days after Goldman Sachs named AT & T its top telecom pick, JPMorgan reiterated it as one of its best ideas. JPMorgan analyst Sebastiano Petti called AT & T a broader “value pick” as it currently trades on a valuation discount relative to other names in the sector. Petti holds an overweight rating and $24 price target on shares, which implies upside of more than 11% from Tuesday’s close. AT & T’s ongoing fiber optic additions in its broadband businesses well-positions it for long-term growth, Petti added. “Despite recent fiber M & A, we like AT & T’s organic fiber opportunity augmented by joint ventures and open access partnerships,” Petti said in a Wednesday note. Both Petti and Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider highlighted a potential share buyback announcement as a positive catalyst for shares. “We are tactically most constructive on T given our view on the company’s update on capital allocation, where we expect a buyback could be announced,” Schneider wrote in a research note on Monday. “We expect positive wireless results and potentially a capital allocation announcement with the initiation of a buyback. Management commentary during conference season was broadly bullish for the company, and we sensed no downtick to the company’s view on wireless trends.” AT & T also has a high dividend, yielding 5.1%. That’s well above the S & P 500 average of 1.3%. “AT & T is through its elevated capital investment spend for 5G and we expect steady FCF generation to support dividend payments and reduce debt,” JPMorgan’s Petti said. Year to date, shares are up 29.1%.That gain puts the stock on track for its first annual gain since 2019, when it jumped 36.9%.
