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AT&T (T) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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AT&T (T - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $29.28, moving +0.65% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.2% loss on the day.

Coming into today, shares of the telecommunications company had lost 7.27% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 7.19%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.11%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from T as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, T is projected to report earnings of $0.78 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 6.02%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $42.63 billion, up 4.1% from the year-ago period.

T's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $3.17 per share and revenue of $173.16 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -0.31% and +0.82%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for T. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.16% higher within the past month. T is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that T has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.17 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 48.35, which means T is trading at a discount to the group.

It is also worth noting that T currently has a PEG ratio of 2.98. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Wireless National industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.33 as of yesterday's close.

The Wireless National industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 45, which puts it in the top 18% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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