Jefferies Maintains Hold on AT&T After Data Pricing Increase

Jefferies & Company has published a research report on AT&T

after the company released its raised data pricing yesterday with higher data allowances. In the report, Jefferies writes, "Given that the company has stated in the past that most customers were not regularly experiencing overage charges, the higher price point suggests an attempt to increase ARPU. The most notable change was at the entry level tier; at the most popular mid-tier, AT&T's price matches Verizon's but it offers 33% more data. The lowest tier data plan price increased 33% to $20/month for 300MB of data from $15/month for 200MB. While the consumers' value proposition remains similar on per MB basis, AT&T's ARPU will benefit from the higher price point, in our view." Jefferies & Company maintains its Hold rating and $33 price target on AT&T, which is currently trading up $0.06 from yesterday's $30.33 closing price.