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

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.3333.

TDS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. 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, Weiss Ratings downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems stock opened at $33.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 63.31 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.73. Telephone and Data Systems has a 12 month low of $32.94 and a 12 month high of $49.12.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $309.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.27 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. Telephone and Data Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 25.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 42,165 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 8,640 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 21.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,125 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $2,574,000 after buying an additional 11,769 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 58,721 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter worth about $248,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 358.3% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,043 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 21,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.