Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of TDS traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,623,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,936,697. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.32. Telephone and Data Systems has a 52 week low of $31.51 and a 52 week high of $49.12. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.18. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s payout ratio is presently 5.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TDS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,705,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 16.5% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 410,666 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $13,930,000 after purchasing an additional 58,169 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 310.4% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,060 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 15,172 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Telephone and Data Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 9.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 81,383 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,012,000 after purchasing an additional 6,692 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc (NYSE:TDS) is a telecommunications company founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through its operating businesses, the company provides connectivity and communications services to residential, business and institutional customers in communities across the United States.

TDS Telecom is the company’s primary operating business and offers broadband internet, voice, video and related communications services. Its broadband network includes fiber-optic and other high-speed technologies, while its business services include managed networking, cloud-based solutions, hosted communications and other technology services for organizations.

Historically, TDS also owned UScellular, a wireless communications provider serving customers in portions of the United States.