Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.3333.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TDS shares. Weiss Ratings raised Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Axecap Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the third quarter worth about $2,441,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 4.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,607,857 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $128,368,000 after purchasing an additional 137,494 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 456,451 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $17,911,000 after buying an additional 80,670 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $496,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $241,000. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TDS opened at $45.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.46 and a beta of 0.34. Telephone and Data Systems has a 52 week low of $31.07 and a 52 week high of $47.79.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.23. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 2.25% and a negative net margin of 0.21%.The business had revenue of $330.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.10) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems’s payout ratio is presently -24.62%.

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.