If this company was doing so well, as they would have you believe, wouldn't the stock price be higher?
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Granted the div is a positive, but long term investors are getting harder to come by and the shorts hit and run. My opinion concerning the long term is that, with all the odd nuances such as creative accounting and lying to customers, the company is no longer trustworty and appears completely corrupt, making those investors look harder & deeper and eventually go elsewhere. The uncertainty of the TW appeal probably weighs in too and God forbid they lower the div. It will be the beginning of the end.
@iho, agreed. T has had a steady dividend increase for 34 years and cash flow has been a primary driver. I’ve held a 401k position in T since the late 80’s, and add a little each quarter, no regrets as dividends and splits have rewarded.
That said, if T were to stall their advance of those divs, I would lead the way to a mass exodus, as confidence would be in serious question.
The desire to acquire T at a significant discount would not be objectionable, meantime if the div stays, I stay. If the stock goes up, a double bonus, I get the increased value and all my shares get rewarded four quarters per year....I can live with that.
T is simply boosting earnings by cutting costs, then a healthy dividend is less certain, earnings growth is one indicator, but keep an eye on cash flow and revenues as well. AT&T is not growing organically, then it may only be a matter of time before the dividend is increased again? I don't think is sustainable.
T is simply boosting earnings by cutting costs, then a healthy dividend is less certain, earnings growth is one indicator, but keep an eye on cash flow and revenues as well. AT&T is not growing organically, then it may only be a matter of time before the dividend is increased again? I don't think is sustainable.
Stock price is worth $0 randy raided the company for his billions in salary off the backs of union workers
@xiz, touché (from @nyi) very valid points...I have to concede that even recent history should be fiercely remembered, and it wasn’t all that long ago. Obama, for thé very points you made, put an Executive Order in place to protect us from those same ‘catfish’ or bottom feeders, that you mentioned...a Financial Code of Conductand, Trump dismantled it, and we are at risk once again.
Only longtimers of T, who have bought and held T steadfastly, know the satisfaction of watching the dividends roll in as we approach retirement, and the dividends (reinvested) Buy more shares, which increase the stock value. They think it’s our only investment, that we’re stupid to hang on. Believe me when I say, we’re smiling every quarter no matter if the stock is up or down!
@tql, thanks for the validation....longtimers of T stock understand our decisions to keep it and we’re comfortable with that.
ouch, as a pt member of the FS industry , your comments cause me to wince. but you are all correct, too many people in my industry fudge things to sell things that are not in the best interest of their customers, they sell things that are complex and don't work as advertised. there are lies damn lies and statistics right? I chuckle when I see someone I know post things on Linkedin touting gold, silver and crypto currency. they claim they put their gold holdings outside the US to avoid US government seizure, poor thing, she does not know the US government can still seize her meager holdings. I don't argue, anyway back to the analysts, T stock is a good buy if you want dividends, its not good if you want to make money with stock movements unless you want to short it
Remember the 2007 Meltdown?
Financial advisers lie. Not all the time, but often enough to matter. Most lies are small and amount to fudging the truth to build fame and fortune. There’s no harm in that, right? I don’t think clients would agree.
Advisors want to believe they’re successful and will go a long way to prove it to themselves and others. They’ll claim their investment performance was higher than any valid measurement would attest, they’ll say their investment picks will earn superior returns when there is only a low probability of that happening, and they’ll inflate their image with big industry certificates on their walls and meaningless job titles on business cards. These are not big lies, but they are large enough to reward advisers who make a concerted effort to bend the truth about their skills and not get caught.
@afm, you do realize that if my broker repeated what you just wrote, exactly the way you wrote it, I couldn’t keep a straight face.
@afm, you raise some interesting thoughts. Can we assume then that most of the financial institution analysts that follow AT&T missed all that? Current stock rating, right or wrong, is at a B minus.
Want to Spot Fraud in Business Financial Statements? speculative trading ignores fundamentals,
involving deliberately overstating assets, revenues, and profits and/or understating liabilities, expenses, and losses. I am a forensic accountant that investigates business financial fraud.
These red flags I can see clearly without a request for information:
1-Aggressive revenue recognition practices, such as recognizing revenue in earlier periods than when the product was sold or the service was delivered
2-Unusually high revenues and low expenses at period end that can’t be attributed to seasonality.
3-Growth in inventory "Membership" that doesn’t match growth in sales
4-Reported earnings that are positive and growing but operating cash flow that’s declining
5-Gross margin or operating margins out of line with previous cycles
@nvc, I like your sentiment. I put T in my 401K a few years after the divestitures (it was a growth play then) and invested every month since, not a large amount, to watch it go through several splits. And sure enough, when i wasn’t watching, became a re-investing, dividend paying value play.
After the Great Recession I spoke with my CFP about an annuity for my wife and I. He said ‘why bother, you already have one! He pointed at the T stock....with its dividend, it’s already beating any annuity or interest paying account. Treasuries would be stupid, T has raised its dividend 34 straight years, it’s secure and long term and easily accessible.
Yeah, no argument that T stock is stuck in the mud, but long term planning is something many Millenials haven’t caught onto. They want instant gratification, I will smile at my quarterly statements!
WITH NOT CLEAR PLAN, AND HOPING FOR A MILLENNIAL MIRACLE ,a company this size CAN'T COOK THE FINANCIALS FOREVER, it is not sustainable, times have changed people
T is an income stock, not a growth stock(most utilities are income stocks.) As long as it pays a 6% dividend and the banks are paying 1% for a CD, I will keep my T stock, Many more employees are going to be sent packing, but the Company will be around for a long time.
T will be here doing what they do best, and the outcome will be: less employees, more contractors, more offshoring, more outsourcing, and less of YOU!, LMAO
not necessarily, stock price is about future not present, if it was about present Tesla would be about .02. Long term the analysts think ATT is not a growth stock. Companies move from growth to value at times. ATT will be around for a long time, the stock may not go up that much but as long as they pay dividends its a better value than the bank.
There are many companies with good balance sheets with low stock price. If you don't like the price and own the stock, sell it and feel better.