AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $23.42, but opened at $21.89. AT&T shares last traded at $22.2050, with a volume of 16,237,986 shares.

Key Stories Impacting AT&T

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

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.65 and revenue of $32.3 billion, exceeding consensus estimates. Revenue increased roughly 5% year over year. AT&T Q3 earnings and revenue results
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to approximately $2.40 and reaffirmed its long-term goal of double-digit adjusted earnings growth through 2028. It also plans substantial shareholder returns, including about $10 billion of buybacks in 2026. AT&T raises 2026 earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Operating momentum remained strong: Advanced Connectivity internet net additions reached a record 769,000, including 442,000 fiber additions and 327,000 fixed-wireless additions. Advanced Connectivity revenue rose 6.1%, while operating income increased 18.9%. AT&T third-quarter 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T lowered its expected annual capital investment for 2027 and 2028 to $22 billion-$23 billion, which could support future free cash flow and debt reduction.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent analyst price targets show a wide range, from $18 to $31, with a reported median of $24.50, indicating substantial disagreement over the stock’s valuation and outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Net debt rose to $149.8 billion after the EchoStar spectrum transaction. Management now expects its net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio to return to the 2.5-times target range during 2029, suggesting slower deleveraging than some investors anticipated.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported results included a $2.6 billion non-cash impairment charge related to the held-for-sale Mexico wireless business. The charge, along with lower reported profit, overshadowed the adjusted earnings beat.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also remain concerned that AT&T’s continued fiber, wireless and spectrum investment leaves less financial flexibility, particularly while the company is carrying elevated debt.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on T. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of AT&T from $27.50 to $26.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $30.00 price objective on AT&T in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.05.

AT&T Stock Down 6.8%

The firm has a market cap of $149.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.33.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. AT&T had a return on equity of 12.86% and a net margin of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. AT&T’s payout ratio is 36.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of T. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,158 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 142,506 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,477,000 after buying an additional 30,302 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,296 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing Inc raised its position in shares of AT&T by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing Inc now owns 36,801 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $898,000 after buying an additional 1,264 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Management Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.