Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,528 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,320 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Telephone and Data Systems were worth $1,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of TDS. Croban lifted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Croban now owns 37,088 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased 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 during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,137 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Down 0.9%

TDS stock opened at $43.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.85. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.07 and a 52 week high of $47.79. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -67.53 and a beta of 0.34.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last issued its 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 negative net margin of 0.21% and a positive return on equity of 2.25%. The company had revenue of $330.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $319.28 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TDS shares. Weiss Ratings raised 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 report on Sunday, March 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

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.