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AT&T stock fell 18% in 2023.
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AT&T
the stock is down in Thursday trading, and a report in The Wall Street Journal on toxic lead utility cables won’t help stocks rebound, a Citi analyst said.
Shares of the telecom giant
AT&T
(ticker: T) are down 0.7% on Thursday at $15.02, which would be the lowest close for the stock since October 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The stock has fallen over the past seven consecutive trading days, down 6.8% over that time. If AT&T ends Thursday in the red, it would be the longest losing streak since June 2022.
AT&T stock is now posting an 18% year-to-date loss, while
S&P500
gained 17%.
Recent news about legacy telecommunications companies is going to be another headwind for the stock, Citi analyst Michael Rollins wrote in a research note Monday. So far, he’s been right.
THE Log published an article on July 9 saying that AT&T,
Verizon Communications
(VZ) and other telecommunications companies have network cables coated in toxic lead across the United States, some laid by predecessor companies.
Barrons contacted AT&T for comment. USTelecom, a broadband association that represents telecommunications companies, responded and said in a statement that “the telecommunications industry has a long tradition of closely following science and evidence with respect to issues of public health, environmental protection and worker safety, and safe work practices within industry have been shown to be effective in reducing potential worker exposures to lead.
USTelecom added that much thought needs to be given to determining whether old lead-sheathed telecommunications cables should be removed or left in place, and that “the U.S. telecommunications industry stands ready to engage constructively on this issue.” .
Rollins, who rates AT&T as a buy with a target price of $22, wrote in a research note that “possible risks associated with lead-sheathed cabling were not specifically cited in AT&T’s study. [February] 10-K, although it refers to the potential risks of adverse litigation or government investigations that could require the company to pay large sums or lead to costly litigation.
“We believe that stocks exposed to wireline could trade lower in the near term due to the uncertainty and risk associated with concerns raised by the WSJ,” Rollins added.
Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com