Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Plans $0.04 Quarterly Dividend

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of 0.04 per share by the Wireless communications provider on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th.

Telephone and Data Systems has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. Telephone and Data Systems has a dividend payout ratio of -64.0% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Telephone and Data Systems to earn ($0.20) per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of -80.0%.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of TDS stock traded down $0.33 on Friday, hitting $45.21. 1,887,599 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 874,524. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.86 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.29. Telephone and Data Systems has a one year low of $31.07 and a one year high of $47.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TDS shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research lowered 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 report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Telephone and Data Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.67.

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.