Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.6667.

TDS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Up 0.7%

Telephone and Data Systems stock opened at $44.81 on Thursday. Telephone and Data Systems has a one year low of $31.07 and a one year high of $45.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.92 and its 200 day moving average is $39.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of -41.49 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $308.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 1.46% and a positive return on equity of 1.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.73) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 11,570 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 2,251 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 225.4% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,790 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 17,172 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 228,115 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $9,353,000 after buying an additional 8,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 343.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,597 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 30,670 shares in the last quarter. 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.