Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

@Peel1fNp-3pom, "financial genius" here, thought I'd bring you up to speed like the smart guy' I am.

Like many of my fellow T's, I bought T thru my 401k, every quarter ( along with other choices) every year, to current. Let's see, what do I know about stock splits? In '87 3:1 split, '93 2:1 split, '98 2:1 split, '99 3:2 split. Benefitted from spinoffs '96 Lucent Tech & NCR Corp, 2001 AT&T Wireless, 2002 AT&T Broadband. But I was in the stock to reap, what was then unexpected benefits. Was I a "smart guy" or maybe a long term planner....perhaps a little of both. You have to be in the stock to benefit from any moves your company makes. The T bashers are probably not deep into 401k donations (that's ok by me) and short term thinking may be to their detriment.

The poster of this thread said it well, T is pretty much a bond or utility stock, a conservatives choice. Like tens of thousands in AT&T who have it in their 401K, we don't want fancy, we want consistent & increasing dividends, we want tax deferred, we're not day traders, we are long term investors. Why?Because we're in no rush, because we're patient and once retired we can continue to stay on auto pilot, or not.

@Pee1fNp-3kzf said, "If that company pays good dividends, and it is holding its value, that's a good thing, " and I agree. T admittedly has some hurdles, Randy is certainly one of them. No company goes up in a straight line, but having a 5.40% dividend helps when the stock is lower than we want and like many of us, and as I said, I'm patient and i can wait.

@PeelfNp-2hya

Not sure where you got your numbers, nor why you went back to 1997, but see below:

From Merck's own web page, adjusted for stock splits and dividends, closing price 9/15/97 was $46.84.

Yesterday's closing price was $66.12, a 41% increase.

From Coca Cola's own webpage, adjusted for stock splits and dividends, closing price 9/15/97 was $28.78.

Yesterday's closing price was $46.11, a 60% increase.

For CISCO, from yahoo finance, adjusted for stock splits and dividends, closing price 9/15/97 was $8.23

Yesterday's closing price was $32.19, a 291% increase.

For Pfizer, from Google Finance, adjusted for stock splits and dividends, closing price 9/15/97 was $19.33.

Yesterday's closing price was $35.73, an 84% increase.

For Microsoft, from Yahoo Finance, adjusted for stock splits and dividends, closing price 9/15/17 was $16.34.

Yesterday's closing price was $74.77, a 357% increase.

For Caterpillar, from Caterpillar's website, adjusted for stock splits and dividends, closing price 9/15/17 was $26.75.

Yesterday's closing price was $120.48, a 350% increase.

For AT&T, from Yahoo Finance, adjusted for stock splits and dividends, closing price 9/15/97 was $31.13.

Yesterday's closing price was $36.32 a 16% increase.

I could've gone on with your list if you would've provided more of your examples, but I think the trend is obvious. Maybe you should pay someone to do your research for you in the future. Finance doesn't seem to be your strong point.

Also remember, financial genius, you have to factor in stock splits. You buy 100 certificates for $250 in 1997' and now you own 400 certificates for $250 after splits....well, need I explain it further? Smart guy you are.

PeelfNp-2hya

Nice try. I personally bought MSFT late 2012. It has tripled in price since then. (26.74, 12/26/12). Closed yesterday at $74.77. How is that the same price since 1997?

@PeelfNp-2hya

"I discovered a number of corps that have the exact same stock price in '97 as it has today!"IF that company pays good dividends and it is holding it's value, it's a good thing. If, on the other hand, a company is paying good dividends but is trending downward over a long period of time, that signals impending problems. Factor in the stock price decline and include inflation, how much is it costing you to hold onto that stock for emotional reasons? I'm not saying that doom in around the corner, but there are some warning signs here. If you want to keep and/or buy T stock, knock yourself out. But consider/question everything.

@izxo suggested "look a little deeper in your research people," regarding T losing $$ over a period of years, T seems to be in good company. That said, I took your suggestion? Checking the current DJ Average (top 30) , and some out of it, I discovered a number of corps that have the exact same stock price in '97 as it has today! Some differed in time frame, some were growth stock, some dividend payers....a variety to be sure.

'98 -'17 / Merck - stock price at mid 60's.

'98 -'17 / Coco Cola - stock price at $45 then and now

'99 -'17 / Cisco - stock price at $32 then and now

'98 -'17 / Pfizer - then & now at $35

'99 -'15 / Microsoft - has since moved higher

'06 -'16 / Catepillar - was stuck at $67 has moved up

This list could have gone on....

It's easy to check but I also wanted to be fair and show some stocks eventually moved up, but some simply did not. These companies would also show a loss of stock price over one, three & five year time periods. The dividend that T paid have tempered those numbers earlier shown.

These stocks, and many like them, have not "gone places" for a number of years.

I'm wondering if you would have recommended bank stocks 10 years ago. T is not perfect, and I'm not even suggesting you buy a lot in your 401k, but T is no more risky than the list above and it pays a 'bond like' dividend while you're waiting to retire.

This stock is garbage, pure and simple speculation, of one of the companies with more debt on earth after this deal closes,

Year to date, -14.74%. 1 year change, -10.93%. 5 year, -3.87%. Yeah, great stock. Invest in little Randy's ventures. Looks like you're going places! Dividends are great, but the stock's performance tells you where the company is going. Look a little deeper in your research people.

I agree, T stock is great with the dividend they pay. Finally someone making sense. Lots of uninformed people on this thread that do nothing but bash the company that feeds them

Bottom Line on T Stock

The fact is, you can lose owning AT&T stock, and at no time has this been truer than since it announced it was buying Time Warner, a deal that’s not guaranteed to keep the good times rolling.

Frankly, AT&T will be lucky to generate 9.2% annual returns in the next 12 years given the debt it’s heaped on its business. Regardless of the cash flow generated by adding Time Warner to the pile, AT&T is anything but a risk-free investment.

As of this writing, Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

The post AT&T Inc. (T) 5.2% Dividend Yield Hardly Worth It appeared first on InvestorPlace.

be okay?... it’s not okay right now, probably never will, and sometimes that’s all we can see and feel and hear. Sometimes that’s all we can register, but Debt, hurricane exposure (self insured) and mismanagement Are the constants

With respect, i don't believe "desperate" plays a part here. Over the past 10 years, at the start of the 'Great Recession' AT&T, like many current & past Dow 30 stocks, has traded within a steady hi-lo range. Never breaking out, but paying decent dividends along the way.

If you had intentions of keeping your money safe, without speculating, then T was and is, like money in the bank, nothing fancy but like a good paying bond which pays 5% + for the trouble. I wonder how many nay sayers had a piece of Bear Stearns!

Look at many of the mutual funds out there, T is a good chunk of their portfolios. Fidelity, Vanguard etc. are loaded with T, it's certainly not a clerical error. Their not desperate, their long range planners.

Desperate are we