Analysts Set Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Target Price at $47.50

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.50.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TDS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. 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, May 30th.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

TDS stock opened at $37.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.82 and a quick ratio of 3.81. Telephone and Data Systems has a 1 year low of $31.51 and a 1 year high of $49.12. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.93.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $2.15. Telephone and Data Systems had a net margin of 33.20% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The firm had revenue of $309.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.05) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.33%.

Institutional Trading of Telephone and Data Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TDS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 25.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 42,165 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 8,640 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 21.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,125 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 11,769 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 58,721 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter valued at about $248,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 358.3% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,043 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 21,142 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

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.