Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 15th

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.04 per share by the Wireless communications provider on Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th.

Telephone and Data Systems has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. Telephone and Data Systems has a payout ratio of -64.0% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Telephone and Data Systems to earn ($0.20) per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of -80.0%.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems stock opened at $38.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.42. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.37 and a beta of 0.35. Telephone and Data Systems has a 12-month low of $31.07 and a 12-month high of $42.74.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.13. Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 0.85% and a positive return on equity of 0.92%. The firm had revenue of $308.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.73) earnings per share. Telephone and Data Systems’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TDS. Wall Street Zen downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Telephone and Data Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc, a telecommunications company, provides communications services in the United States. It operates through two segments: UScellular and TDS Telecom. The company offers wireless solutions to consumers, and business and government customers, including a suite of connected Internet of things (IoT) solutions, and software applications for monitor and control, business automation/operations, communication, fleet and asset management, smart water solutions, private cellular networks and custom, and end-to-end IoT solutions; wireless priority services and quality priority and preemption options; smartphones and other handsets, tablets, wearables, mobile hotspots, fixed wireless home internet, and IoT devices; and accessories, such as cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards, as well as consumer electronics, including audio, home automation and networking products.