AT&T Stocks Jump on Dividend, Equity News

AT&T Inc. stock jumped more than 6 percent Tuesday on news that the company will distribute a higher-than-expected dividend and is buying back $10 billion worth of stock for equity.

AT&Ts stocks were trading for $40.35 during the late morning hours, up 6.2 percent, which is sharp for an organization of AT&Ts size.

Earlier in the day, AT&T said it would raise its dividend payout by almost 13 percent and said revenue could rise faster than it has forecast for 2008. The company expects to end 2007 with about $119.6 billion in revenue.

The quarterly dividend rate will go up from approximately 35 cents to 40 cents per share and from $1.42 to $1.60 a share on an annual basis. It will be paid to common shareholders in February.

AT&Ts board also authorized the corporation to buy back 400 million shares in common stock, which equals about $10 billion in equity.

AT&T Inc. www.att.com