In this article, we discuss the 5 best telecom dividend stocks to buy for 2022. If you want our detailed analysis of the telecom industry, go directly to the 10 Best Telecom Dividend Stocks To Buy for 2022.
5. BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)
Dividend Yield as of February 2: 5.33%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15
BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) is a Canadian telecom company that pays a reasonable dividend yield of 5.33% to shareholders. Ookla named BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) the fastest 5G mobile network in Canada for the second time in a row in early February. The number of hedge funds with a stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) increased to 15 at the end of the third quarter of 2021, up from 14 the previous quarter. These stakes are worth a total of $129.1 million, up from $113.2 million.
BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE), a leading 5G provider in Canada, encourages cloud adoption among customers. The company teamed up with VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in October to deliver digital transformation services to its customers.
During the fourth quarter of 202, the Canadian telecom company added 47,618 retail net subscribers and 29,191 retail IPTV customers. The company’s total revenue in Q4 2021 jumped 1.8% year over year to C$6.21 billion. On February 3, BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) increased its quarterly dividend by 5.1% to C$0.02 per share. As of early February, the stock is up 23% in the past twelve months.
4. Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:VOD)
Dividend Yield as of February 2: 6.61%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18
UK-based Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:VOD) is among the leading converged connectivity provider globally serving 114 million mobile users in Europe and 187 million mobile customers in Africa as of February 2022. Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:VOD) reported strong year-over-year service revenue growth of 2.7% in the third quarter of fiscal 2022, with revenue totaling €9.65 billion.
Vodafone Group’s value-added services such as IoT, cloud, security, and wholesale services accounted for 27% of its service revenue in Q3 FY 2022.
Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:VOD) shares rose nearly 20% in January following merger talks regarding its UK unit, which could merge with CK Hutchison’s Three UK, and its Italy operation, which could merge with Iliad.
By the end of January, news that Swedish investment firm Cevian Capital had positioned an undisclosed holding in the UK-based telecom company had put Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:VOD) in the spotlight.
Meanwhile, 18 hedge funds were optimistic on Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:VOD) at the end of the third quarter of 2021, with stakes totaling $613.7 million, up from 17 funds the previous quarter.
3. SK Telecom Co.,Ltd (NYSE:SKM)
Dividend Yield as of February 2: 7.12%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 6
SK Telecom Co.,Ltd (NYSE:SKM) is Korea’s largest wireless operator, with approximately 45% market share. As of the third quarter of 2021, SK Telecom Co.,Ltd (NYSE:SKM) had 31.5 million mobile subscribers, 6.56 million high-speed internet customers, and 8.9 million pay-tv subscribers.
Aside from its telecom dominance in Korea, SK Telecom Co.,Ltd (NYSE:SKM) has been expanding its business to 5G, metaverse, AI, and digital infrastructure services. The South Korean wireless carrier launched “T Universe” in August 2021, a subscription-based service that allows customers of SK Telecom Co.,Ltd (NYSE:SKM) to access items and services from global retailers such as Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG).
Apart from the telco’s subscribers, the T Universe platform service is available to approximately 50 million individuals in Korea as of November 2021. The company plans to achieve 36 million T Universe subscribers and KRW 8 trillion of the yearly gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2025.
SK Telecom Co.,Ltd (NYSE:SKM) launched Nugu, Korea’s first AI speaker, in December, in collaboration with Amazon.com, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Alexa.
According to the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in Q3 2021, 6 elite funds reported owning stakes in SK Telecom Co.,Ltd (NYSE:SKM), totaling $108 million. Oldfield Partners held the largest stake in SK Telecom Co.,Ltd (NYSE:SKM) during Q3 2021, owning 1.92 million shares worth $58 million.
2. Orange SA (NYSE:ORAN)
Dividend Yield as of February 2: 7.99%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 3
Orange SA (NYSE:ORAN) is a French mobile telecommunications company that provides data, voice, and broadband services to over 220 million mobile customers and over 44.7 million fixed-line clients as of October 2021. Orange SA (NYSE:ORAN) also operates a mobile financial segment that serves over 1.6 million European and 600,000 African clients.
Orange SA (NYSE:ORAN) is one of France’s and Spain’s leading passive mobile infrastructure operators, with over 26,000 cell sites as of November 2021. Orange SA (NYSE:ORAN) shares rose 3.4% on January 27 following news of a possible merger of its mobile towers with Germany-based telecom firm Deutsche Telekom AG (OTC:DTEGY) and UK-based telecom company Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:VOD).
Hedge funds are becoming more bullish on Orange SA (NYSE:ORAN) with its fast-growing business. Arrowstreet Capital, the telecom company’s largest shareholder, increased its stake in Orange SA (NYSE:ORAN) by 26% at the end of Q3 2021, bringing its total holdings to 1,064,347 shares worth $11.5 million.
1. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)
Dividend Yield as of February 2: 8.16%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
After consistently increasing its dividend payout in the last three decades, American telecom giant AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has been officially dethroned as a dividend aristocrat on February 1.
The company recently announced a 47% dividend cut to $1.11 per share per year and to divest itself of its WarnerMedia division through a spinoff. AT&T shareholders will get 0.24 shares of the new company for every 1 share of AT&T that they own.
Citadel Investment Group increased its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 7% in Q3 2021, bringing the hedge fund’s total holdings to 34.7 million shares valued at $940 million, making Citadel the company’s largest shareholder. Millennium Management, on the other hand, grew its holding in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 166% at the end of Q3 2021.
On January 27, Deutsche Bank kept a Buy rating on AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) with a price target of $30.
You can also take a peek at the 10 Stocks Activist Investors are Buying and Top 10 Stock Picks of Prescott Group Capital Management.
