Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Stock Price Down 7.4% – Here’s What Happened

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS)’s share price was down 7.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $33.63 and last traded at $33.34. Approximately 164,681 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,006,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TDS has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. 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, Weiss Ratings downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Telephone and Data Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Down 9.6%

The company has a current ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.41 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.48.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $2.15. The firm had revenue of $309.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.78 million. Telephone and Data Systems had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 6.15%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.05) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TDS. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,026 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 681 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,804 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 14,362 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,866 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.