Caxton Associates LLP Acquires Shares of 37,340 Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has invested approximately $1.45 million in Telephone and Data Systems, acquiring 37,340 shares in the first quarter.
• The company's stock reported a negative net margin of 0.85% and revenues declined 5.7% year-over-year.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Telephone and Data Systems, with a consensus target price now set at $52.00 and a "Moderate Buy" rating.

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 37,340 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,447,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 4.5% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,485 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 8.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,544 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 8.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,243 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 5.8% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 5.5% in the first quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 11,596 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on TDS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.00.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

Shares of TDS traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 167,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,649. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.51 and a 1-year high of $42.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.82 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The Wireless communications provider reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 0.85% and a positive return on equity of 0.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.49%.

Insider Transactions at Telephone and Data Systems

In related news, Director Prudence E. Carlson sold 4,452 shares of Telephone and Data Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $171,402.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 311,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,973,692.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph R. Hanley sold 68,759 shares of Telephone and Data Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.16, for a total value of $2,623,843.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 60,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,307,649.68. The trade was a 53.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 276,650 shares of company stock valued at $10,690,789. 14.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Telephone and Data Systems 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.