The Market ... On A Day The Market Is Closed -- Happy Thanksgiving -- November 28, 2019

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Telecoms: time to buy.

ATT:

First, a very savvy player sees upside in AT&T. Second, the company realized Elliott wasn’t going away and had decided to work with them. And third, the trend for company earnings was up.

All three were affirmed with AT&T’s third quarter numbers and guidance. Under the plan, the company will separate the roles of chairman and CEO, cut debt to just 2 times cash flow, sell up to $10 billion in assets, swear off acquisitions, buy back 3 percent of its shares annually and continue low single digit dividend increases.

With shares trading at just 10.6 times expected 2019 full-year results and 8.3 times the mid-point of 2022 guidance, we’re comfortable raising our buy target to $40.

And get this: it still pays 5.42%.

Comcast (CMCSA): 

For Comcast, the greatest excitement has been overseas, where recently acquired Sky (8 percent of profit) boosted viewership 10 percent and lifted cash flow 38.3 percent from a year ago. That’s a very good sign for growing the unit’s 24 million customer relationships in Europe, driven by sports content.

In the US, Telemundo is still the number one Spanish language network, while NBC was tops for the 18 to 49 age group in prime time for the sixth consecutive year. That’s a solid testament to Comcast’s ability to run the content side of the business.

Success at the network is in no small part thanks to the powerful marriage of strong content with a superior network this decade. And those advantages will be showcased further over the next 12 months, as the company expands its Flex broadband offering and ramps up the Peacock streaming service.

With the stock trading at just 13.7 times expected 2019 full-year results, we’re now comfortable raising our highest recommended entry point for the king of cable to $45.

Pays only 1.89%.

Verizon: go to the link.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Mr Trump? He's spending Thanksgiving in Afghanistan. Wow.