FORA Capital LLC Purchases New Position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems, purchasing 7,926 shares valued at approximately $307,000 during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Telephone and Data Systems, with ownership among institutional investors currently at 80%.
• The company's recent earnings reported a loss of ($0.05) per share, missing analyst estimates, but revenue was at $1.19 billion, exceeding expectations.

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,926 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 121.8% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,342 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,092 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $200,000. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

Shares of TDS traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,382,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,412,622. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.34 and a beta of 0.48. The company's fifty day moving average is $37.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.65. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $42.74.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). 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 $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. The business's revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently -16.49%.

Insider Activity at Telephone and Data Systems

In other Telephone and Data Systems news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 8,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $336,486.72. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $667,930.83. This represents a 33.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Prudence E. Carlson sold 4,452 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $171,402.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 311,005 shares in the company, valued at $11,973,692.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,650 shares of company stock worth $10,690,789 in the last quarter. Insiders own 14.48% of the company's stock.

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.