Is AT&T Still a Good Dividend Stock?

AT&T (NYSE: T) has long been valued by investors interested in dividend-paying stocks. The company until recently was a Dividend Aristocrat, delivering annual payout hikes like clockwork for 36 consecutive years.

Its impressive streak of hikes stopped after the pandemic struck in 2020, squeezing AT&T's sales as the company closed stores amid widespread lockdowns. Then this year, AT&T slashed its annual dividend payout nearly in half from $2.08 per share to $1.11. That's not all. In July, AT&T revised its full-year 2022 free-cash-flow (FCF) estimates downward from $16 billion to $14 billion. Declining FCF can affect a company's ability to fund its dividend.

Given this streak of dividend-related bad news, AT&T is arguably no longer a good income investment. Or is it? The company's dividend still sports a high yield, currently about 6%. Before deciding to buy shares or cross AT&T off your investment list, it's worth examining the company in more detail.

Source Fool.com