Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Shares Down 6.1% – What’s Next?

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS)’s share price dropped 6.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $39.40 and last traded at $38.6790. Approximately 520,029 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 930,696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TDS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial cut Telephone and Data Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.36 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $43.82 and a 200-day moving average of $42.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 3.43.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $1.98. Telephone and Data Systems had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 6.15%.The business had revenue of $309.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 65.6% during the 3rd 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. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 51.3% during 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 Telephone and Data Systems by 121.3% during 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 Telephone and Data Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake 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 worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.