Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 236,635 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,702,000. Telephone and Data Systems comprises 2.2% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Telephone and Data Systems as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 681 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 121.3% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 830 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 191.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the period. 80.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial cut Telephone and Data Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of TDS opened at $39.77 on Tuesday. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $49.12. The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.69. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 75.03 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.19%.

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.