Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $38.37 and traded as high as $41.06. Telephone and Data Systems shares last traded at $40.9160, with a volume of 594,266 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TDS. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.67.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of -37.88 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.37.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $308.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 1.15% and a negative net margin of 1.46%.Telephone and Data Systems’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.73) EPS. Research analysts expect that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s payout ratio is -14.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 16,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $632,787.34. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,947.40. This trade represents a 94.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 14.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Telephone and Data Systems

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 750,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $29,430,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Cambria Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 14,652 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 2,925 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $417,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 3.0% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 86,558 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,345,000 after buying an additional 2,538 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the third quarter valued at $1,304,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

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.