Out Fox The $treet

AT&T took a nearly 10% hit from the recent highs due to negative analyst calls. The stock will benefit from up to $45 billion in share buybacks and debt repayments from 2020 to 2022. My $42.50 price target values the stock at a 2022 EV/EBITDA multiple of only 6.9x. A few negative analyst calls has  AT&T  ( T ) suddenly down $3 from the recent yearly highs near $40. While  my views  on the financial projections of the company are similar to those of these analysts questioning revenue growth potential in entertainment and the new SVOD service, my view on the stock valuation is where the disagreement exists. The stock is cheap on this dip and my price target is still firmly up at $42.50. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long T. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

AT&T launched their rebranded digital ad business. Xandr is only estimated at 3% of the total revenue base. Any success of Xandr provides upside to my previous $40 base case target. The business is off to a troubling start with AppNexus CEO leaving. Last week,   AT&T   ( T ) ushered in the aggressive move into advertising. The wireless giant hopes to more effectively compete in the advertising sector against the tech giants by collecting more data from customers via various video and wireless connections. Unfortunately, the   newly created Xandr   is more likely to resemble the failure of Oath from   Verizon Communications ( VZ ). Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long T. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.   

Verizon made a near perfect dividend hike of 2.1%. The forward dividend yield is now about 4.5%. The wireless company has annual dividend payout obligations of nearly $10 billion. Exiting the media business would allow Verizon to avoid the tech wars. Last week,   Verizon Communications   ( VZ )   increased the dividend   for the 12th consecutive year. Investors wanted a bigger hike due to higher cash flows from tax reform, but this dividend hike was the perfect amount to not lose shareholders while preserving cash for the coming tech war.  Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.   

The lingering union strike at Verizon is starting to have a financial impact on the company. The brand impact to Verizon Wireless could start showing up in customer churn. Investors have no reason to panic out of a 4.5% dividend yield, but the stock could easily give up its gains for 2016. Now that a month has passed since last focusing directly on the union strike impact on  Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ) , the lack of an agreement is bound to have a lingering impact. Investors now have to worry about a tarnished brand after union members have attacked the company for six weeks in a row. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.   Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

CenturyLink trades down after guiding to a mixed earnings picture. The local telecom continues to generate substantial cash flows that support the large 7.5% dividend yield. Use the weakness to own the telecom with the better yield. For a relatively large, yield-oriented stock, CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL ) trades in a very volatile manner. After  Q1 earnings , the stock is down around 8% despite sporting a large dividend yield. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long CTL. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

The quarterly results for Sprint hint at stability with limited signs of moving Forward. . The wireless company continues to trade minimal phone additions for lower service revenue per customer. . The stock isn't touchable until the company actually makes real moves forward. . FQ4 quarterly results  for Sprint (NYSE: S ) were framed by the #MoveForward concept. The wireless company reported some improving metrics in several key categories, but the some doubts exist in whether enough progress was made considering the discounting activity.  Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.   Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

T-Mobile continues to lead the domestic wireless industry in net subscriber adds and service revenue growth. The company also leads the sector in operating expense growth. The stock isn't appealing at $40 with minimal ability to generate profits in the highly competitive wireless industry. As a brand and marketing machine, T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS ) has done a tremendous job of turning the business around. For shareholders, the question remains whether the wireless company can make the next step towards profitable growth. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

The New Dogs of the Dow had a solid Q1 gain that surpassed the benchmark Dow. The average stock in the Net Payout Yields based list had a yield of 9.2% to start Q2. Due to a large buyback, United Technologies overtook the lead with the highest yield at 13.1%. This article will focus on the quarterly returns and changes in the new "Dogs of the Dow" strategy originally introduced (see  The New Dogs Of The Dow - 2015 ) last January. The goal of the series is to highlight that the old theory of buying the Dow stocks with the highest dividend yields is outdated. The more modern version involves using the Net Payout Yield (NPY) that adds the net stock buyback yield to the dividend yield. This yield more accurately reflects the modern corporate structure that utilizes a large amount of stock buybacks. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long AAPL, CAT, IBM, TRV. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

Verizon reported in-line Q1 numbers that provided limited catalysts for a stock rebound. The net customer numbers in wireless and FiOS support that the prime business segment is reaching peak levels. The stock becomes attractive on further dips as the P/E multiple and dividend yield offer solid support. My  investment thesis  starting toward the end of March was that Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ) likely would trade weak for a period of time. The combination of the big rally from $44 to $54 in a few months and the bidding process for Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO ) weren't agreeable to higher stock prices. The recent union strike only added fuel to the pullback while the following strategies for growth are going to take time.  Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.   Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

Verizon continues making progress with building new media assets while wasting time on a bid with old media Yahoo. The latest earnings results from Yahoo show a business in secular decline that keeps getting worse. Verizon's stock will continue trading weak due to the ongoing bid for Yahoo and the union strike. The latest news has Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ) as the likely top bidder for old media Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO ) while buying a new media company. After the close Tuesday, Yahoo reported  Q1 results  that again question why Verizon wants to buy the core business of the company that's in big-time decline. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

Two major unions go on strike against Verizon disrupting new service installations. At this point, the strike is mainly isolated to the wireline business insulating the investment impact. Verizon will continue trading weak as the strike and the Yahoo bid impact shareholder sentiment. Due to the market focusing on the Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO ) bid, Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ) isn't getting much attention regarding the union strike. The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers went on strike on Wednesday and even had Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders attend a rally. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Two major unions go on strike against Verizon disrupting new service installations. At this point, the strike is mainly isolated to the wireline business insulating the investment impact. Verizon will continue trading weak as the strike and the Yahoo bid impact shareholder sentiment. Due to the market focusing on the Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO ) bid, Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ) isn't getting much attention regarding the union strike. The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers went on strike on Wednesday and even had Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders attend a rally.  Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.   Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

T-Mobile reported a big Q4 earnings beat. The stock saw limited traction due to the valuation and questions regarding valuation. My recommendation remains neutral on the stock, with the only reason to own it for a short-term momentum play. T-Mobile's (NASDAQ: TMUS )  quarterly results  again provided some industry leading numbers around user and service revenue growth. The aggressive domestic mobile provider even smashed earnings estimates, though the stock got limited traction.  Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

CenturyLink smashed Q4 estimates and increased guidance for 2016. Despite a big rally, the stock still offers a higher dividend yield than the large domestic wireless providers. The recommendation is to continue owning CenturyLink until the yield falls into the range of the telecom giants. The market rejoiced the that  CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL )  reported a  blowout EPS  number for Q4. The telecommunications provider had seen the stock collapse with the market despite a large dividend that was supported by cash flows.  Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long CTL. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

The New Dogs of the Dow had substantial Q3 losses similar to the benchmark Dow. The average stock in the Net Payout Yields based list has a yield of 9.1% to start Q4. Even after a small gain in Q3, Travelers continues to top the list with a 12.1% yield. This article will focus on the quarterly returns and changes in the new "Dogs of the Dow" strategy originally introduced (see The New Dogs Of The Dow - 2015 ) back in January. The goal of the series is to highlight that the old theory of buying the Dow stocks with the highest dividend yields is outdated. The more modern version involves using the Net Payout Yield (NPY) that adds the net stock buyback yield to the dividend yield. This yield more accurately reflects the modern corporate structure that utilizes a large amount of stock buybacks. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AAPL, CAT, IBM, TRV. Please review the disclosure page for more details....

Verizon is slowly building up a mobile-ad service. The go90 mobile service offers a glimpse of the future though providing limited impact to current financials. The wireless provider continues to pivot toward the future while providing investors a 5% yield to enjoy in the mean time. Though the AOL deal didn't originally appear to offer much value to a wireless behemoth like Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ), considering its lack of growth and small size, some opportunties emerged that made the service all additive. In a similar manner, the purchase of Millennial Media (NYSE: MM ) for a meager $248 million doesn't appear to offer anything meaningful to a company worth over $180 billion. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Summary The New Dogs of the Dow had Q2 returns that exceeded the gains of the DJIA, but it failed to match the rebound of the Dogs of Dow theory. The average stock in the Net Payout Yields based list has a yield of 8.3% starting Q3. After a large loss in Q2, Travelers tops the list with a 12.3% yield.    This article will focus on the quarterly returns and changes in the new "Dogs of the Dow" strategy originally introduced (see The New Dogs Of The Dow - 2015 ) back in January. The goal of the series is to highlight that the old theory of buying the Dow stocks with the highest dividend yields is outdated. The more modern version involves using the Net Payout Yield (NPY) that adds the net stock buyback yield to the dividend yield. This yield more accurately reflects the modern corporate structure that utilizes a large amount of stock buybacks. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha .   Disclosure: Long AAPL, CAT, IBM, T...

Summary T-Mobile announced the addition of 2.1 million customers during Q215. The company continues to lead domestic wireless providers in both service revenue growth and stock gains. T-Mobile remains expensive considering the general inability to turn customer additions into consistent profits.    In the domestic wireless pricing war, T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS ) remains the big winner. The stock has seen significant gains in the last couple of years while the other domestic providers struggled to reward shareholders. Both AT&T (NYSE: T ) and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ) saw small capital losses that were offset by solid dividends while Sprint (NYSE: S ) collapsed. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

Verizon completes the AOL merger that distracted investors on the valuation of the stock. The domestic pricing wars are starting to lose steam. Verizon provides the best valuation the stock has offered in several years. With the closing of the AOL (NYSE: AOL ) deal, Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ) can now move forward. While AT&T (NYSE: T ) is surging to new highs building off the April surge in the stock, Verizon is down after going forward with AOL. Part of this is due to some excitement building for the DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV ) merger, but the market appears to be overlooking Verizon now. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Summary Verizon agreed to purchase AOL for $4.4 billion in cash. The deal adds debt to an already large debt load. AOL doesn't appear to add the exciting assets suggested by the press release with the company offering limited growth. At this point, any deal adding debt isn't appealing, but the materiality of the deal doesn't adjust a breakout forecast for Verizon's stock. The validity of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ) purchasing AOL (NYSE: AOL ) is very much a debate, but the one part missing from those discussions is the use of cash for the deal. One of the biggest concerns with an investment in Verizon is the debt load created from the transaction with Vodafone (NASDAQ: VOD ). The basis of the AOL deal is better sculpted on whether it is worth the cash. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.