Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $33.89 and last traded at $34.26, with a volume of 1008446 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TDS shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Up 2.5%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.57 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 3.43.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.98. Telephone and Data Systems had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The company had revenue of $309.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.09) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,026 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,804 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in 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 period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,866 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

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.