Wall Street loves a 140-year-old original blue chip that pays a 4.9% dividend as trading in the new year kicks off. Wells Fargo named AT & T a top telecommunications idea for 2025, citing expectations for double-digit earnings per share growth by 2027 fueled by its fiber-to-the-home broadband internet buildout. “We believe T is poised to reap the benefits from refocusing to being a dedicated comm[unications] provider,” wrote analyst Eric Luebchow. “T’s long-term guidance provided at its Investor Day in December 2024 provided clarity on its plans to deliver $40B in shareholder return from 2025-2027,” he said. AT & T — founded in 1885 — is selling at what Luebchow called an attractive valuation of 7 times 2025 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, noting the company’s strong free cash flow forecast suggests further share repurchases beyond the $20 billion currently expected. Also on Monday, RBC Capital Markets gave a bullish outlook on AT & T in 2025 and beyond. Analyst Jonathan Atkin upgraded Dallas-based AT & T to an outperform rating, saying he was more convinced of the company’s potential growth and shareholder return. T 1Y mountain Shares over the last year “Eliminating legacy costs and leveraging fiber investments strengthen our confidence in T’s performance beyond 2027,” Atkin wrote, expecting the company to add more than 500,000 converged households through 2030. He also projects AT & T will save $6 billion through “decommissioning” copper lines by 2027. Atkin lifted RBC’s price target to $26 from $22 a share, omplying 15% upside from Friday’s close. AT & T shares gained about 36% in 2024, excluding the 4.9% dividend.
