Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Stock Price Down 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) fell 4.7% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $32.57 and last traded at $32.4740. 342,758 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 1,144,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TDS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Citigroup cut their target price on Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.50.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Up 4.6%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $309.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.05) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Telephone and Data Systems’s payout ratio is currently 5.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,096,000. Oaktree Capital Management LP raised its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 4,292,243 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $180,703,000 after buying an additional 603,857 shares during the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $21,040,000. Knighthead Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $18,764,000. Finally, Carronade Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 10.0% in the first quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 4,623,934 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $194,668,000 after acquiring an additional 420,340 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc (NYSE:TDS) is a telecommunications holding company that provides broadband and communications services in communities across the United States. Its principal operating business is TDS Telecom, which serves residential, business and wholesale customers with internet access, fiber-optic and other broadband connections, voice services, video entertainment and related communications solutions.

TDS Telecom focuses on expanding high-speed broadband availability in rural and suburban markets.