Updating your Income stocks: 3M Company, AT&T Inc. and Alliant Energy Corp.

Article Excerpt

3M COMPANY $177 (www.3m.com) is a still buy. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, 3M continues to ramp up production of N95 respirator masks (they block 95% of very small particles, including those containing the virus). Higher sales of masks and other medical-related products helped partially offset lower demand from industrial customers. In the third quarter of 2020, overall sales rose 4.5% to $8.35 billion from $7.99 billion a year earlier. Partly due to a higher tax rate, earnings in the quarter fell 5.8% to $2.43 from $2.58. 3M is a buy. AT&T INC. $29 (www.att.com) is a buy. In the third quarter of 2020, its revenue fell 5.0%, to $42.34 billion from $44.59 billion a year earlier. That drop is mainly because COVID-19 has hurt advertising revenue at WarnerMedia’s broadcast and cable TV operations. Earnings before unusual items also fell 19.1%, to $0.76 a share from $0.94. However, the company generated free cash flow (regular cash flow less capital expenditures) of $8.27 billion in the quarter. That…