Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.6667.

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

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

TDS opened at $47.62 on Monday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.03. Telephone and Data Systems has a 1 year low of $31.07 and a 1 year high of $47.77. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.09 and a beta of 0.32.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.81%.

Institutional Trading of Telephone and Data Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TDS. Carronade Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 4,203,594 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $172,347,000 after acquiring an additional 523,094 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 89,149 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,591 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 51,325 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $2,104,000 after purchasing an additional 6,173 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $614,000. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,850,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $75,850,000 after buying an additional 250,000 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.