Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.6667.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Telephone and Data Systems news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total transaction of $34,069.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 14.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oaktree Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $144,732,000. Carronade Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 239.3% in the second quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 3,392,500 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $120,705,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392,500 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the third quarter valued at $62,784,000. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,395,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $22,531,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

TDS opened at $44.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.03 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.54 and a 200 day moving average of $38.91. Telephone and Data Systems has a fifty-two week low of $31.07 and a fifty-two week high of $44.72.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.13. Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 1.46% and a positive return on equity of 1.15%. The business had revenue of $308.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.73) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.81%.

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.