Once the genie came out of the artificial intelligence bottle, there was no way it was ever going back in. The run the top AI stocks have made in 2023 is nothing short of spectacular. Some veteran traders are reminded of the late 1990s and early 2000 dot-com explosion, however, for top companies like Nvidia, earnings are exploding higher and may continue to for some time.
[in-text-ad]
Anxious aggressive growth investors are experiencing the FOMO, or “fear of missing out,” and many are chasing these top companies higher. While those with a very long time horizon should be fine even buying shares at current levels, some recent solid reports by legacy tech companies are starting to get noticed, and some of the best technology sector values may lie with the old-school leaders.

We screened our 24/7 Wall St. legacy technology database looking for stocks that are rated Buy and offering investors solid upside from current trading levels. Seven top companies made the cut, and all look like outstanding ideas for the rest of 2023. While all are Buy rated, it is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

AT&T

This legacy telecommunications company has been going through a long restructuring, has lowered its dividend and has sold off or merged underperforming assets. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) provides telecommunications, media and technology services worldwide.

Its Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services and sells handsets, wireless data cards, wireless computing devices with carrying cases and hands-free devices through its own company-owned stores, agents and third-party retail stores.

AT&T also provides data, voice, security, cloud solutions, outsourcing and managed and professional services, as well as customer premises equipment for multinational corporations, small and midsized businesses, and governmental and wholesale customers. In addition, it offers broadband fiber and legacy telephony voice communication services to residential customers.

It markets its communications services and products under the AT&T, Cricket, AT&T Prepaid and AT&T Fiber brand names. The company’s Latin America segment provides wireless services in Mexico and video services in Latin America. This segment markets its services and products under the AT&T and Unefon brand names.

Recent negative press over the potential clean-up of lead landlines has caused the stock to be crushed. However, with huge cash flow and a solid customer base, this could be a massive total return win as the dividend remains safe.

Investors receive a 7.68% dividend. Deutsche Bank has a $22 price objective for AT&T stock. The consensus target is $17.46, and the stock closed on Monday at $14.52.

Cisco

Investors who are more conservative may want to consider this mega-cap tech leader, which posted outstanding quarterly results earlier this year. Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) designs, manufactures and sells internet protocol (IP) based networking products and services related to the communications and information technology industry worldwide.
Cisco provides switching products, including fixed-configuration and modular switches, and storage products that provide connectivity to end users, workstations, IP phones, wireless access points and servers, as well as next-generation network routing products that interconnect public and private wireline and mobile networks for mobile, data, voice and video applications.

Its cybersecurity products give clients the scope, scale and capabilities to keep up with the complexity and volume of threats. Putting security above everything helps corporations innovate while keeping their assets safe.
[in-text-ad]
The networking giant posted solid results for the first quarter of fiscal 2023, solidly beating earnings expectations and offering positive forward guidance. The company will report second-quarter results in mid-August.

Shareholders receive a solid 2.94% dividend. J.P. Morgan has set its target price at $62. Cisco Systems stock has a $50.23 consensus target, but Monday’s close was at $52.04.

Corning

This continues to be a huge pioneer and player in the fiber optic world, and second-quarter revenues topped estimates. Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) engages in the display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials and life sciences businesses worldwide.

Its Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets and handheld devices.

The Optical Communications segment provides optical fibers and cables, as well as hardware and equipment products, such as cable assemblies, fiber optic hardware and connectors, optical components and couplers, closures, network interface devices, and other accessories for the telecommunications industry, businesses, governments and individuals.

The Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that offer material formulations for glass, glass ceramics, crystals, precision metrology instruments and software, as well as glass wafers and substrates, tinted sunglasses and radiation shielding products for various markets comprising mobile consumer electronics, semiconductor equipment optics and consumables, aerospace and defense optics, radiation shielding products, sunglasses and telecommunications components.

The Environmental Technologies segment provides ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile, gasoline and diesel applications.

Its Life Sciences segment offers laboratory products, including consumables, such as plastic vessels, liquid handling plastics, specialty surfaces, cell culture media and serum, as well as general labware and glassware and equipment under the Corning, Falcon, Pyrex and Axygen brands.

Corning stock comes with a 3.31% dividend. Citigroup’s $40 price target compares with a $38.08 consensus target and the most recent close at $33.94.

This high-quality company pays a solid dividend, and the stock has rallied some but remains way below levels posted in early 2022. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells and supports information technology (IT) hardware, software and services solutions worldwide. It operates through three segments.
[in-text-ad]
Infrastructure Solutions Group provides traditional and next-generation storage solutions, and rack, blade, tower and hyperscale servers. It also offers networking products and services that help its business customers to transform and modernize their infrastructure, mobilize and enrich end-user experiences and accelerate business applications and processes. It also offers attached software and peripherals, as well as support and deployment, configuration and extended warranty services.

The Client Solutions Group offers desktops, notebooks and workstations; displays and projectors; attached and third-party software and peripherals; as well as support and deployment, configuration and extended warranty services.

The VMware segment supports customers in the areas of hybrid and multi-cloud, modern applications, networking, security and digital workspaces, helping customers to manage IT resources across private clouds and complex multi-cloud, multi-device environments.

Dell also provides information security and cloud software and infrastructure-as-a-service solutions that enable customers to migrate, run, and manage mission-critical applications in cloud-based IT environments.

The dividend yield here is 2.76%. The BofA Securities price target is $60, and the consensus target is $54.89. Dell Technologies stock closed on Monday at $52.92.

IBM

This blue chip giant still offers investors a solid entry point, a massive dividend and a degree of safety for more conservative investors. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) provides integrated solutions and services worldwide through the following four business segments.

The Software segment offers hybrid cloud platform and software solutions, such as Red Hat, an enterprise open-source solutions; software for business automation, AIOps and management, integration, and application servers; data and artificial intelligence solutions; and security software and services for threat, data and identity. This segment also provides transaction processing software that supports clients’ mission-critical and on-premise workloads in banking, airlines and retail industries.

The Consulting segment offers business transformation services, including strategy, business process design and operations, data and analytics, and system integration services; technology consulting services; and application and cloud platform services.

The Infrastructure segment provides on-premises and cloud-based server and storage solutions for its clients’ mission-critical and regulated workloads; and support services and solutions for hybrid cloud infrastructure, as well as remanufacturing and remarketing services for used equipment.

The Financing segment offers lease, installment payment, loan financing and short-term working capital financing services.

IBM stock investors receive a 4.64% dividend. The $160  BofA Securities price target is higher than the $130.29 consensus target and Monday’s closing print of $144.18.

Despite a strong run, this top software stock is still offering a good entry point. Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) develops, manufactures, markets, sells, hosts and supports database and middleware software, application software, cloud infrastructure, hardware systems and related services worldwide.
[in-text-ad]
The company licenses its Oracle Database software to customers, which is designed to enable reliable and secure storage, retrieval and manipulation of various forms of data. Its Oracle Fusion Middleware software aims to build, deploy, secure, access and integrate business applications, as well as automate their business processes.

Last year, Oracle and Cerner closed an agreement for the former to acquire the latter through an all-cash tender offer for $95 per share, or approximately $28.3 billion in equity value. Cerner is a leading provider of digital information systems used within hospitals and health systems to enable medical professionals to deliver better health care to individual patients and communities.

Shareholders receive a 1.37% dividend. Oracle stock has a $132 target price at BMO Capital Markets. The consensus target is $113.20, though Monday’s close was at $117.23.

Texas Instruments

This old-school semiconductor company offers solid value at current levels and is a great pick for investors who are more conservative. Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) is a broad-based supplier of semiconductor components, ranging from digital signal processors to high-performance analog components, to digital light-processing technology and calculators.

Some 65% of the company’s sales are exposed to the well-diversified, business-to-business industrial, automotive, communications infrastructure and enterprise markets. The company is a big Apple supplier, so the long-term outlook for this venerable leader makes it a safer bet for investors with less risk tolerance.

The stock was crushed after posting solid third-quarter results but guidance that surprised Wall Street. While shares have rallied back sharply, there is still sizable upside for investors at current levels.

Investors receive a 2.67% dividend. Susquehanna’s $215 price target is a Wall Street high. The consensus target is $183.17. Texas Instruments stock closed at $180.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

These seven top companies still control large swaths of the technology and telecom landscape. You can bet they are all trying to increase their presence in the AI world and have the deep pockets to do so. With dependable dividends, reasonable entry points, and solid growth potential, these could be among the best values for aggressive growth investors with a long time horizon.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.