Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Receives $49.67 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.6667.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TDS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total transaction of $34,069.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 14.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Telephone and Data Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TDS. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 699 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 121.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 830 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 53.1% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 191.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Up 1.4%

TDS opened at $40.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.70 and a 200 day moving average of $37.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Telephone and Data Systems has a 12 month low of $31.07 and a 12 month high of $42.74. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.52 and a beta of 0.35.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $308.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 0.85%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.73) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.81%.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc, a telecommunications company, provides communications services in the United States. It operates through two segments: UScellular and TDS Telecom. The company offers wireless solutions to consumers, and business and government customers, including a suite of connected Internet of things (IoT) solutions, and software applications for monitor and control, business automation/operations, communication, fleet and asset management, smart water solutions, private cellular networks and custom, and end-to-end IoT solutions; wireless priority services and quality priority and preemption options; smartphones and other handsets, tablets, wearables, mobile hotspots, fixed wireless home internet, and IoT devices; and accessories, such as cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards, as well as consumer electronics, including audio, home automation and networking products.