BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC Makes New Investment in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Key Points

• BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased 85,157 shares of Telephone and Data Systems, valued at approximately $3.15 million, giving it a 0.07% stake. Institutional investors collectively own about 80% of TDS.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.50, although several firms recently lowered their targets or ratings.
• 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, equivalent to a 0.5% annual yield.

BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 85,157 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,152,000. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC owned 0.07% of Telephone and Data Systems at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 42,165 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 8,640 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 21.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,125 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 11,769 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 58,721 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter worth about $248,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 358.3% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,043 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 21,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TDS shares. Raymond James Financial lowered Telephone and Data Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Telephone and Data Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.50.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE TDS opened at $33.70 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 0.32. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $31.51 and a one year high of $49.12. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $34.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.25. 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 (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $309.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.78 million. Telephone and Data Systems had a return on equity of 11.97% and a net margin of 33.20%.The business's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.05) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio is 5.33%.

Telephone and Data Systems 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.

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