Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Shares Down 4.7% – Should You Sell?

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS)’s share price traded down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $33.31 and last traded at $32.5110. Approximately 116,400 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,105,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TDS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research cut Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.50.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Down 3.0%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $309.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.05) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.33%.

Institutional Trading of Telephone and Data Systems

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 2,779.5% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,123 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 446.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,340 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $90,000. 80.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc (NYSE:TDS) is a telecommunications company founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through its operating businesses, the company provides connectivity and communications services to residential, business and institutional customers in communities across the United States.

TDS Telecom is the company’s primary operating business and offers broadband internet, voice, video and related communications services. Its broadband network includes fiber-optic and other high-speed technologies, while its business services include managed networking, cloud-based solutions, hosted communications and other technology services for organizations.

Historically, TDS also owned UScellular, a wireless communications provider serving customers in portions of the United States.