Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Telephone and Data Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.67.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Up 0.0%

TDS stock opened at $41.01 on Thursday. Telephone and Data Systems has a twelve month low of $31.07 and a twelve month high of $42.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of -37.98 and a beta of 0.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.46.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $308.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 1.15% and a negative net margin of 1.46%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.73) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Telephone and Data Systems

In related news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 16,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $632,787.34. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 870 shares in the company, valued at $33,947.40. This represents a 94.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 14.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oaktree Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $144,732,000. Carronade Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 239.3% in the 2nd quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 3,392,500 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $120,705,000 after buying an additional 2,392,500 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the third quarter worth $62,784,000. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the third quarter valued at $55,395,000. Finally, Third Point LLC lifted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 12.7% during the first quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 6,760,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $261,882,000 after acquiring an additional 760,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

About Telephone and Data Systems

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc (NYSE: TDS) is a diversified telecommunications company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides a broad array of communications services, including wireless voice and data, wireline broadband and voice, cable television, and managed IT and cloud solutions. Its two primary operating units—TDS Telecom and U.S. Cellular—serve residential, business and wholesale customers across the United States.

TDS Telecom focuses on delivering broadband internet, digital voice, video and data communications services in primarily rural and suburban markets.