Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) by 38.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,528 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,320 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Telephone and Data Systems were worth $1,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 699 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 121.3% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 830 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 191.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 48.4% in the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,402 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 36.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,965 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

Shares of TDS opened at $43.90 on Thursday. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.07 and a fifty-two week high of $47.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.53 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $330.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.28 million. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 2.25% and a negative net margin of 0.21%.The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems’s payout ratio is presently -24.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on TDS shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

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.