Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.3333.

TDS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Zacks Research downgraded 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 Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of TDS opened at $41.83 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -64.36 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Telephone and Data Systems has a 1-year low of $31.07 and a 1-year high of $47.79.

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

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 65.6% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 699 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 681 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 121.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 830 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 2,779.5% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,123 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.