A T & T US

(A Top Pick Jan 08/19, Up 32%) This was a catch up story and it had an attractive dividend. It is still attractive for those that don't want to buy bonds or preferred shares.

He is not in a hurry to buy yet because the share price has performed well over the last year, yet the dividend is only just in line with peers and the space is set to get very competitive. Compared to Canadian telecoms you also have the currency risk and no dividend tax credit.

Sit tight. Used to be very cheap, but then they made many acquisitions to be more competitive with their media peers. Debt shot up. The valuation has languished. Then an activist pressured management to allocate capital better. Wait as this plays out longer. It's still inexpensive.

One of two big operators. We're all using more and more wireless, so this is worth a bit. They've diversified. Not a strong position in streaming. Unclear where they're going. Fair bit of debt. Prefers Verizon. Doesn't see any problems for the next few years, so will probably continue to grow. Solid yield of 5.5%. (Analysts’ price target is $39.13)

He likes the sector and likes AT&T longer term. It's not recession-proof though, but could hold its own against its peers. It pays over a 5% yield, far better than a 10-year U.S. treasury bond.

In a competitive space with little growth in the US and Canada. Also, there's a lot of capex by all telcos to launch 5G, a lot of investment money. Not interested in this. Rather would buy Teleperformance (TEP) which provides outsourced call centres.

A big holding of his. Stable business with wireless, though Time-Warner business could be hit by cyclicality (ad revenues would take a hit). There are concerns over their debt. They have a plan to aggressively pay it down; they refinanced debt into the future. Not so excited buying ATT now; an activist is now involved.

(A Top Pick Jun 21/19, Up 8%) He's not worried at all about pressures on wiring pricing in the States, and in fact expects more rational pricing to come with only three big players.

You need a long-term outlook here. It will profit from the 5G deployment that will take 2-4 years and a sizable investment. The semis who supply the 5G will do well, but companies like T-N are the ones investing a lot of money, so they won't see a return for 3-5 years.

It is a defensive stock. They are spread out all over the place and they have a flat growth rate. You are buying it for the dividend. It is not worth holding it in a non-registered account. Canadian telecoms are actually still growing.

They bought Time-Warner in a huge deal, so the big knock against them is taking on debt to do that. Also, can they blend TW successfully? Another knock is not growing their wireless subscribers; it's been slow and uneven. That said, ATT still generates a lot of free cash flow. Their priority is to pay down that debt, which will bring economic value to shareholders. It's simple math. Expect a 10% return + huge dividend of 6%. (Analysts’ price target is $34.28)

He owns Verizon instead where he'd rather be when 5G falls into place. Verizon is focussed on 5G. AT&T is not ready because they are distracted by merger talks. Switch to Verizon if you hold AT&T.

They own direct TV and just bought Time Warner. They are now in the content business. It has a fine dividend yield. It is watered down in terms of what it gives you as an investor.

They are under the same threat as the others but they can pick content. They made an acquisition for content. 6% yield. (Analysts’ price target is $34.31)

Likes the chart for establishing a series of higher lows. He expects it to test $33.