AT&T (T)

Buy in the low-$30s and hope it pops up to the low-$40s, and collect the 5.9% dividend.

This isn't a chart he would own, though it pays a 6% dividend. Since late-2016 it's been in a classic downtrend channel, meaning it keeps falling.

BCE vs. ATT. Stock performance has been similar over last year. Comes down to the wireless space. For ATT, it’s the only thing they do, whereas with BCE it’s only one thing they do. In Canada, there’s more runway for wireless growth. He’d go with BCE, good dividend and cash flow. It’s a little early to own high dividend names, but once interest rates start falling, these names will look interesting.

The sector has been out of favour. People want faster growth. There is pricing pressure on the wireless side and people cutting phone lines. They are operating in an old world. There will be winners and losers in the industry. Their dividend has not been growing quickly.

Pays a good dividend, which is the only reason to buy it. Telcos are in a neverending buying cycle, while investors buy them for yield. It's tough for them to grow. In a registered plan, it's better to buy a Canadian telco than AT&T, given the tax advantage.

A better time to own telecoms are in a slowdown; we're now in the late cycle. But some investors like dividends and this is good for that. This stock has moved sideways though, below its 200-day moving average. This sector is
very mature so competition is intense and may pressure their bottom line.

He doesn’t know how they are going to finance the acquisition. Not likely see a dividend cut. AT&T and Verizon are the 2 wireless leaders in the US. Should be good long term investments but growth has really slowed down in this industry. Prefers Verizon over AT&T. They are good solid steady investments, but are not going to make big capital appreciation.

It’s in the process of going through a hearing to conduct a major acquisition. It is going to take a lot of debt to do so. If it is allowed its will be over $200 billion. A significant part of their EBITDA is from their old wire lines business. That is declining rapidly. If interest rates move up rapidly these companies that use leverage and have relatively low growth business could be affected.

The technical chart is not showing any upward momentum. Policy factors and other issues are not fundamentally supportive. The sector is a bond proxy and this is not the time to be investing in this space as interest rates are moving up. He questions if the dividend is safe. This is not a defensive stock with rising interest rates, which he expects will rise to 4%. Yield 6%.

The market does not think T-Mobile and Sprint will merge. There is other competition when it comes to how we communicate. T-N has to spend a lot of money to upgrade their systems to 5G. Their dividend coverage is getting less and less. He prefers T-Mobile.

Consumers are cutting their landlines while youngsters are watching/downloading content for free, a huge struggle for all telecoms anywhere. They (and Verizon) are struggling to build their business. He stays away from this industry.
Doesn't see growth in this space. Internet and wireless are the only areas of growth, but there is pricing pressure here.

AT&T vs. Verizon? Verizon is the better-quality company. Both offer good dividends, but Verizon has less debt and a better network. If you want dividend income, go with AT&T. If you want growth, go with Verizon.

Stuck in a range. Has tried to go higher, but won't go far. You're probably holding it for dividends.

A lot is happening in telecoms. Unfortunately, you are fighting a real headwind. The chart shows lower highs and lower lows. There are probably higher rates over time. This name is going to face a wall of sellers, as every time this creeps up a little, more people are going to want to Sell to get their money back. He wouldn't advise anyone to look at this space right now.

Don’t add more. It is a tough, competitive market. These are your lifeboat stocks. They are to protect you on the downside if we ever have a correction. It won’t keep up with the broader market, however.