Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About AT&T (T): Should You Buy?

Group 1: Brokerage Recommendations - AT&T has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.71, indicating a consensus between Strong Buy and Buy based on 29 brokerage firms' recommendations [2] - Out of the 29 recommendations, 18 are Strong Buy and 3 are Buy, accounting for 62.1% and 10.3% of all recommendations respectively [2] Group 2: Limitations of Brokerage Recommendations - Studies indicate limited success of brokerage recommendations in guiding investors towards stocks with the best price increase potential [5] - Analysts from brokerage firms tend to exhibit a strong positive bias in their ratings, with five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell" [6][10] - The interests of brokerage firms may not align with those of retail investors, leading to potential misguidance in stock price movements [7][10] Group 3: Zacks Rank as an Alternative - The Zacks Rank is a proprietary stock rating tool that classifies stocks into five groups based on earnings estimate revisions, providing a reliable indicator of near-term price performance [8][11] - Unlike ABR, Zacks Rank is based on quantitative models and is updated more frequently to reflect changing business trends [9][12] - AT&T currently holds a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold), indicating a cautious outlook despite the Buy-equivalent ABR [14]