The Week

AT&T (T) closed at $25.38, down 0.08% for the week versus $25.40 the previous Friday. The S&P 500 gained 1.21% over the same stretch, leaving T about 1.29 percentage points behind. The tape was weak: shares opened Monday at $25.75 and drifted lower, touching an intraweek low of $24.94 on Tuesday before settling back around $25.38 on Friday. Weekly range was 3.36%. Average daily volume of about 34.2 million shares ran roughly 17% below the 60-day median, so this was a low-volume pullback. Price sits slightly below the 20-day moving average of $25.73 but well above the 60-day at $24.16, still near the upper part of a $19.89–$26.93 band.\n\n## Key Events\n\nThree themes drove the news this week: dividends, the iOS 27 iPhone Handoff feature, and peer valuation comparisons. On 24 September AT&T declared its common and preferred dividends, keeping the common payout at $0.2775 per share while the preferred A and C series carried $0.3125 and $0.2968 respectively. On 23 September reports highlighted how the new iPhone Handoff feature might change carrier traffic patterns, and AT&T responded; media later detailed carrier support and pricing. From 25 to 26 September, some iPhone 18 Pro Max users reported connectivity problems on AT&T’s network, with chatter carrying into the weekend. Earlier in the week, one analyst described AT&T as the smartest bet in the wireless sector, and a Monday piece argued the stock trades below its earnings. A Thursday intraday headline about semiconductors and gold miners sliding was broad-market background rather than an AT&T-specific event.\n\n## Analyst Ratings\n\nAs of 25 September, 27 brokers rated the stock: 12 buy, 4 overweight, 9 hold, 1 no opinion and 1 sell. That works out to 16 buy or overweight and 11 hold or below. The consensus recommendation is buy, with a consensus target of $29.05, about 14.5% above the current $25.38. Targets range from $20.00 to $36.00, a wide spread that points to real disagreement among analysts. Within the telecom services industry of 56 firms, AT&T places 4th by rating, and its 27 broker coverage is far above the industry average of 7, signalling high institutional attention.\n\n## The Week Ahead\n\nMacro data comes thick next week: Dallas Fed manufacturing on Monday 28 September, then FHFA home prices, Case Shiller 20-city index, JOLTS job openings and consumer confidence on Tuesday 29 September. Home prices and job openings could shift rate expectations, which in turn feeds into the relative appeal of high-dividend telecom names. On the company side, next earnings are scheduled for 21 October before market open, with consensus at $0.6105 EPS and about $31.7bn revenue — more than three weeks out. The two nearer-term threads to watch are how the iPhone connectivity issue is handled and how rate-sensitive sectors respond to the macro prints.\n\n## In Short\n\nThis week’s action was low-volume, lagging and range-bound near the highs, broadly in step with the news flow. The rating backdrop skews positive: 16 of 27 brokers rate the stock buy or overweight, with consensus target about 14.5% above spot, though the $20–$36 target spread is wide. Valuation looks undemanding at around 8.12x P/E, 1.57x P/B and a 4.37% dividend yield on a $173.9bn market value. The latest trading day showed net inflows from large, medium and small players, but that is a single-day snapshot rather than a weekly tally. The next test is whether macro data re-rates the high-dividend complex and whether the iPhone network issue translates into retention or marketing costs.\n\nThis article is generated by LongbridgeAI from market data, for information only and not investment advice.