Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.50.

Several research firms have issued reports on TDS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Telephone and Data Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 3,506.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,495,457 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $166,377,000 after acquiring an additional 4,370,792 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,784,000. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,395,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,096,000. Finally, Oaktree Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 4,292,243 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $180,703,000 after purchasing an additional 603,857 shares during the period. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE TDS opened at $33.16 on Friday. Telephone and Data Systems has a twelve month low of $31.51 and a twelve month high of $49.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.96 and its 200-day moving average is $40.33.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $2.15. Telephone and Data Systems had a net margin of 33.20% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The business had revenue of $309.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.05) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.33%.

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.