Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.6667.

TDS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Telephone and Data Systems in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research raised Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

Shares of TDS stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 257,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,136. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.50. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.31 and a beta of 0.35. Telephone and Data Systems has a 1-year low of $31.07 and a 1-year high of $42.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.13. Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 0.85% and a positive return on equity of 0.92%. The business had revenue of $308.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.73) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 16,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total value of $632,787.34. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,947.40. The trade was a 94.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TDS. Croban lifted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Croban now owns 37,088 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 1.0% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,061 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 65.6% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 699 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 0.9% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 36,829 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 6.7% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,663 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

About Telephone and Data Systems

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc, a telecommunications company, provides communications services in the United States. It operates through two segments: UScellular and TDS Telecom. The company offers wireless solutions to consumers, and business and government customers, including a suite of connected Internet of things (IoT) solutions, and software applications for monitor and control, business automation/operations, communication, fleet and asset management, smart water solutions, private cellular networks and custom, and end-to-end IoT solutions; wireless priority services and quality priority and preemption options; smartphones and other handsets, tablets, wearables, mobile hotspots, fixed wireless home internet, and IoT devices; and accessories, such as cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards, as well as consumer electronics, including audio, home automation and networking products.