Well...

Now that AT&T (T) is no longer the divie darling it's been for decades (called the stock for widows and orphans since it was so dependable), many analysts are piling on. There's a mob mentality that causes some people to join in the "kick 'em when they are down" syndrome.

Last fall I sold (dumped) GE when it spiked to $115/share and I got out with a small profit. Had held GE for 25 years. Now T is going through something similar. The biggest issue for many investors is the "slashing" of the dividend from .52/qtr to .26/qtr. That's a drop from around 8.3% (at today's PPS) to about 4.15%. And current T shareholders will receive 1 share of the new company, Discovery, for every 4 shares of T held. Nothing is "forever." An article I read recently cited a Forbes article from the 1980's recommending "Five stocks to hold forever." It included GE, T and F. All still exist but not exactly setting the investing world on fire. (WMT and ED were the other two).

AT&T should emerge a more solid company, even though they have divested their single-biggest gross revenue maker, they have also restructured their long-term debt. Point is, don't be married to a stock. I will ride the T horse through most of 2022 and see what happens, but I will dump it all if I don't like what I see. T is another stock I have held since the early 1990's. My cost average is low so I can afford to take a hit in the PPS and still come out to the good. Meantime, at 4.15% return T is still in the Top 5 of divie-payers in the S&P 500. The new king at 4.91% is IBM. Oh oh! Big Blue is on the clock as the next iconic company (stock) to hit the skids. I don't own any IBM...which means it is probably safe.

As always do your own DD before you invest and GLTA.