Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Telephone and Data Systems received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from five analysts, with two buys, one strong buy and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $47.50, above the stock’s recent $33.16 price.
• Institutional investors own approximately 80% of TDS shares, with several funds recently initiating or increasing positions.
• TDS reported quarterly EPS of $2.24, far exceeding the $0.09 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 3.6% year over year to $309.28 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share, representing a 0.5% annualized yield.

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.50.

TDS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on 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.

Institutional Trading of Telephone and Data Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TDS. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 2,779.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,123 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 446.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,340 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. 80.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

Shares of TDS opened at $33.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.82 and a quick ratio of 3.81. Telephone and Data Systems has a one year low of $31.51 and a one year high of $49.12. The company's fifty day moving average price is $34.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.33.

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

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.33%.

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.

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