Telecom giant AT&T Inc. (T) on Monday caught some positive commentary from analysts at JANCO Partners.

The firm initiated coverage on T with a “Buy” rating and $44 price target, suggesting a 23% upside to the stock’s Friday closing price of $35.71.

A JANCO analyst commented, “We believe that in the quest for yield investors will ultimately accept a 4% or lower yield on AT&T stock…We believe foreign currency risk at AT&T is minimal but its small presence is one factor contributing to the yield difference between it and Verizon (NYSE: VZ).”

Continuing, “AT&T tends to be more innovative than Verizon. It invested early in the iPhone (Nasdaq: AAPL) and developed a loyal customer base as a result of several years of exclusivity. Today the company is working with Nokia (NYSE: NOK) on Windows phones and we expect it to be early with the Samsung Galaxy 3 and, very likely, the Samsung Slate widescreen Windows (Nasdaq: MSFT) tablet.”

AT&T shares posted small gains in late morning trading Monday.

The Bottom Line
We have been recommending shares of AT&T (T) since Mar.12, 2009, when the stock was trading at $23.35. The company has a 4.93% dividend yield, based on Friday’s closing stock price of $35.71.

AT&T Inc. (T) is a “Recommended” dividend stock, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.