For pretty much all of its listed life, the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has been known for its dividends. For its share price growth? Not so much.
After all, Telstra is a company that has seen its share price go backwards over the 21st century so far. And comprehensively so. Back in December 1999, this ASX telco was going for close to $9 a share. But as of yesterday's close, Telstra was asking just $3.88 per share.
But on the upside, Telstra has always provided substantial dividend income to investors. As it stands today, the company offers a trailing and fully franked dividend yield of 4.25%.
But is this all Telstra shares are good for? As most investors know, past performance is not a guarantee of future success. And if this is true, then so is the inverse.
Well, the answer is a comprehensive yes, according to several ASX experts.
Experts name the Telstra share price as a buy
As my Fool colleague James covered earlier this month, ASX broker Morgans is currently optimistic over this ASX blue-chip share.
Morgans has given Telstra an add rating, together with a 12-month share price target of $4.60. The broker justified this by describing the company as in "good shape with strong earnings momentum and a strong balance sheet" after its turnaround. It also sees substantial value in some of the company's underlying assets.
Here's some more of what the broker said:
TLS currently trades on ~7x EV/EBITDA. However some of TLS's high quality long life assets like InfraCo are worth substantially more, in our view. We don't think this is in the price so see it as value generating for TLS shareholders.
This, free option, combined with likely reputational damage to its closest peer, following a major cybersecurity incident, means TLS looks well placed for the year ahead.
But it's not just Morgans that is eyeing off Telstra shares. According to a recent article from Livewire, Paul Taylor, portfolio manager at Fidelity International, has named Telstra as one of his fund's top holdings.
Taylor notes that as a dominant communications provider, Telstra is essentially a company that provides essential services. These companies, he argues, "perform well through inflationary periods and recessions".
He goes on to say:
By their nature they are 'essential' and people continue to buy and consume these products and services regardless of market conditions.
In addition, these types of businesses are in a much better position to pass on higher input costs once again because they are essential. Inflation actually helps them grow.
So that's a pretty glowing endorsement of Telstra shares as they currently stand from these two experts.
It will be interesting to see where the Telstra share price will go from here.
