As is the case every year, the major Wall Street firms we cover here at 24/7 Wall St. come out with a list of stocks that they feel will be the top performers for the coming year. While 2020 was a veritable train wreck anomaly compared to most years, with everything from the pandemic that crippled the economy and killed hundreds of thousands to a roller-coaster stock market that dropped 35% in less than a month and has since rallied to all-time highs. Nonetheless, Wall Street analysts are doing their jobs, and the top picks are coming out fast.

With many concerned that valuations are very stretched, it makes sense for investors to consider thinning the momentum herd in portfolios and perhaps look for growth ideas that are less crowded. One outstanding group to consider is telecom services, which includes U.S. telecom companies, cable, towers and data centers and media outlets.

A new Goldman Sachs research report includes six top telecom services picks. While all are rated Buy, it is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

Telecom

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) stock offers tremendous value at current levels and is on the Goldman Sachs Conviction List. This is one of the largest U.S. telecom companies. It provides wireless and wireline service to retail, enterprise and wholesale customers.

The company’s wireless network serves approximately 120 million mobile connections with 115 million postpaid subscribers. Verizon’s wireline business has undergone a period of secular decline due to wireless substitution and cable competition. Verizon acquired AOL and Yahoo to create the Oath digital content platform.

Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and it delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide.

Investors receive a 4.38% dividend. The Goldman Sachs price target for the shares is $68, while the Wall Street consensus target is $61.62. Verizon Communications stock closed Tuesday’s trading at $57.26.

T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) finally has completed its long and arduous pursuit of former rival communication company Sprint. It provides wireless services for branded postpaid, prepaid and wholesale customers in the United States, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.

The company offers voice, messaging and data services. It also provides wireless devices, including smartphones, wearables, tablets and other mobile communication devices, as well as accessories and wireline services. It offers its services under the T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile and Sprint brands.

The combination with Sprint could bring about a seismic shift in the mobile world. T-Mobile and Sprint’s combined assets could jump-start their 5G ambitions, pushing the industry further into the next-generation technology. They’ve also said they’ll lock in consumer prices for at least three years. As part of all the wrangling, Dish Network will become the fourth national carrier, giving consumers a new alternative.

Goldman Sachs has a $154 price objective, and the consensus target price is $151.43. The last T-Mobile stock trade on Tuesday hit the tape at $128.69, a retreat of over 3% for the day.

Cable

Top media and entertainment company Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) remains a Wall Street favorite. It is the largest U.S. provider of cable services, with over 22 million basic subscribers. It owns NBCU, which includes the NBC TV Networks, Telemundo, MSNBC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, E!, CNBC and several other cable networks, as well as Universal Films and Universal Theme Parks.

Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds and brings customers personalized video, communications and home management offerings.

Many on Wall Street feel that, with vaccinations beginning, Comcast shares are poised to outperform, driven by solid cable and improving NBCU/SKY results. The analysts feel that the company is well positioned for a V-shaped recovery and the shares are very reasonable at current levels.

Shareholders receive a 1.84% dividend. The $68 Goldman Sachs price target compares with a $54.34 consensus target. Comcast stock fell just shy of 3% on Tuesday to close at $50.01.

Media

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is a top consumer media company with multiple streams of income to push revenue. It is the largest publicly traded media and entertainment company and a global leader in producing high-quality, branded, family entertainment.

Key assets include its theme parks (six locations globally, which are slowly reopening), the ABC TV Network, ESPN, FX, National Geographic and other cable networks, iconic film studios Disney, LucasFilms, Marvel, Pixar, 20th Century Fox), Star India, direct-to-consumer streaming platforms (Disney+, 66% Hulu stake and ESPN+) and consumer products.

This is a giant reopening play for the theme parks, and the company’s Disney+ streaming product has been a massive success.

Shareholders receive a 1.46% dividend. Goldman Sachs has set a $209 price target. The posted consensus target is just $180.17, and Walt Disney stock was last seen Tuesday at $175.99 a share.

American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) is a top pick on Wall Street and is acknowledged as an industry leader. It is the largest global owner and operator of wireless and broadcast communications towers. Its portfolio includes approximately 170,000 sites in the United States, Latin America, India, Europe and Africa. The core business for the company is leasing space on its wireless towers, primarily to wireless carriers, government agencies and broadband data providers.

On a multiple basis, the stock trades cheaper than the competition, and many top analysts around Wall Street feel the growth potential for the company remains among the best in the industry.

American Tower stock investors receive a 2.11% distribution. The Goldman Sachs price target is $290. The consensus target is $280.39, and shares closed at $214.91 on Tuesday.

Data Centers

Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) is one of the larger companies in the data center arena. It provides data center services to protect and connect the information assets for the enterprises, financial services companies, and content and network providers primarily in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific.

The company provides colocation services and related offerings, including operations space, storage space, cabinets and power for customers colocation needs; interconnection services, comprising physical cross connect/direct interconnections, Equinix Internet Exchange, Equinix Cloud Exchange, Equinix Metro Connect and Internet connectivity services; and managed IT infrastructure services, including installation of customer equipment and cabling, as well as equipment rebooting and power cycling, card swapping and emergency equipment replacement services.

Investors receive a 2.11% distribution. Goldman Sachs has a towering target price of $830, but the consensus target is even higher at $845.29. Equinix stock closed most recently at $676.53 per share.

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These six top companies are dominant players in their specific subsectors, and their shares offer more conservative growth stock investors outstanding short-term and long-term potential. Each has the ability to drive growth through numerous channels, and a reopening of the economy this year as the vaccine becomes ubiquitous should help propel that growth even more.

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