Encore Global Management LP Purchases New Position in AT&T Inc. $T

Encore Global Management LP acquired a new stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 99,750 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,892,000. AT&T accounts for approximately 2.0% of Encore Global Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,055,700 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,495,144,000 after buying an additional 3,585,661 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 332,089,723 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,249,109,000 after buying an additional 8,314,678 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 119,742,478 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,974,403,000 after buying an additional 4,079,062 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,181,977,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in AT&T by 12.7% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 8,197,935 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

T has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AT&T from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer cut shares of AT&T from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Argus decreased their target price on shares of AT&T from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AT&T currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.19.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of NYSE T opened at $24.67 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. AT&T Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.89 and a fifty-two week high of $29.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.24. The firm has a market cap of $169.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24.

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

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is 36.75%.

Key AT&T News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Nationwide spectrum acquisition completed: AT&T closed its approximately $23 billion purchase of wireless licenses from EchoStar. The deal adds roughly 50 MHz of spectrum—including 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum and 20 MHz of 600 MHz low-band spectrum—covering virtually every U.S. market. The additional capacity should support faster, more reliable 5G service and improve AT&T’s competitive position. AT&T Closes Acquisition of Spectrum Licenses from EchoStar
• Positive Sentiment: Potential operating efficiencies from D-Wave partnership: AT&T expanded its use of D-Wave Quantum’s (NASDAQ: QBTS) technology for network optimization, including outage detection, technician routing and traffic management. Initial testing reportedly reduced an optimization task from about one hour to 15 seconds. If scaled successfully, the technology could lower operating costs, improve outage response and make network investments more efficient. AT&T and D-Wave Expand Quantum Computing Agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial backdrop remains supportive: AT&T recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.65 versus the $0.59 consensus, while revenue increased 2.3% year over year. Management also reiterated its financial outlook and capital-allocation plan. These results help reinforce confidence in the company’s dividend and ongoing network investments, although the spectrum transaction’s contribution to earnings will take time to develop.
• Negative Sentiment: Large capital commitment raises balance-sheet concerns: The $23 billion spectrum purchase is a significant investment for a highly capital-intensive, debt-laden telecom operator. The licenses should improve long-term capacity, but investors may remain concerned about financing costs, leverage and the need to generate sufficient returns from the additional spectrum.

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.