The Latest Picks And Pans From Barron's: AT&T, Bitcoin, Cisco Systems, Kohl's And More

• The cover story in this weekend's Barron's explains why betrayed investors may want to stay with a top telecom.
• Other featured articles discuss bio oil's transition to renewable energy, what value hunters see today and the sustainable-investing landscape.
• Also, see the prospects for the most popular cryptocurrency, restaurant stocks, a networking giant, a retailer and more.

"AT&T Was Punished for Its Dividend Cut. It's Time to Buy the Stock" by Nicholas Jasinski suggests that leading telecom AT&T Inc. T has spent billions on acquisitions while increasing its dividend, but something had to give. See why Barron's believes that the company has a new plan that just might work and why the stock is still worth consideration.

Andrew Bary's "Why John Malone Was Key to the Discovery-AT&T Deal" makes a case that the major media merger highlights why investors may want to consider other stocks in this mogul's Liberty Media empire. See if that includes Liberty Global PLC LBTYA or Qurate Retail Inc QRTEA.

In "Big Oil's Transition to Renewable Energy Won't Be Easy," Leslie P. Norton discusses how European oil companies, such as Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A), have made more progress than their U.S. peers in moving to renewables and other low-carbon technologies. However, shareholders seem skeptical, for now. See what Barron's thinks needs to change.

As value stocks emerge from their 15-year slump, it has become increasingly hard to be a true, deep-value manager, according to "The New Value Hunters, and the Stocks They Love" by Reshma Kapadia. The article reveals how seven managers to watch view value in today's environment. See if they like Best Buy Co Inc BBY, Twitter Inc TWTR and more.

In Avi Salzman's "Bitcoin Had Another Crazy Week. What's Next?," discover how increased use of derivatives helped fuel the crash in cryptocurrencies. Check out the article to see what Barron's believes investors need to know about market-driving forces and about the crazy week Bitcoin BTC/USD has just had.

"12 Investment Picks From Our ESG Roundtable Experts" by Leslie P. Norton presents the results of a survey of experts about the sustainable-investing landscape and some of their bold predictions. Find out why they believe that Etsy Inc ETSY, Square Inc SQ and others fit the bill.

See also: Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Home Depot, Nio, ViacomCBS And More

For some top restaurant chains, finding workers could prove more difficult than luring back customers. So says Jack Hough's "Restaurants Are Back. Which Stocks to Dine Out On." Should investors consider the likes of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG or McDonald's Corp MCD now?

In "Cisco Can Overcome the Global Chip Shortage," Eric J. Savitz points out that a supply squeeze that tech companies have been warning about for weeks now should not overshadow the fact that networking giant Cisco Systems Inc CSCO is enjoying its strongest growth in years. What does Barron's think comes next?

Ben Levisohn's "Kohl's Stock Got Slammed After a Strong Earnings Report. It Looks Like a Bargain" explains why the post-earnings sell-off appears to have created a buying opportunity in this department store operator. After all, the earnings estimates continue to rise, while Kohl's Corporation KSS sales in March and April have topped 2019 levels.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• What business schools are teaching tomorrow's value investors
• What SoftBank's chief executive is excited about investing in
• Five of the best books on ESG and impact investing
• What the Federal Reserve may do to head off housing boom and bust
• What's next for bond yields, gold prices and cryptocurrency regulation
• How to bet on a cryptocurrency comeback while hedging risks
• A young worker's guide to saving for emergencies and investing for retirement
• How the hedge funds that now dominate the Treasury market failed their first test
• Whether to bet on a rental resurgence as the housing boom ages
• Two wine stocks going public at an opportune time
• The utilities giant that is facing an activist investor
• Gasoline prices at their highest since 2014

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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Photo credit: Johannes Weber, Flickr