a very savvy player sees upside in AT&T. Second, the company realized Elliott wasn’t going away and had decided to work with them. And third, the trend for company earnings was up.
All three were affirmed with AT&T’s third quarter numbers and guidance. Under the plan, the company will separate the roles of chairman and CEO, cut debt to just 2 times cash flow, sell up to $10 billion in assets, swear off acquisitions, buy back 3 percent of its shares annually and continue low single digit dividend increases.
With shares trading at just 10.6 times expected 2019 full-year results and 8.3 times the mid-point of 2022 guidance, we’re comfortable raising our buy target to $40.