Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Sells 76,364 Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates reduced its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 25.7%, selling 76,364 shares in Q3 and now holds 220,619 shares worth about $8.66 million (~0.19% of the company).
• TDS beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.32 vs. $0.09 estimate and revenue of $330.7M (up 12% year-over-year), reversing a prior-year loss for the period.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $53.33 price target (Citigroup raised its target to $56 and maintains a Buy), and the company declared a $0.04 quarterly dividend (0.4% yield), ex-dividend March 16.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. reduced its position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) by 25.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 220,619 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after selling 76,364 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned approximately 0.19% of Telephone and Data Systems worth $8,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TDS. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 699 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 121.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 830 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 53.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 191.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,402 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on TDS. Wall Street Zen downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Zacks Research cut Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of TDS stock opened at $44.87 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $44.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.79. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.07 and a 52 week high of $47.79. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.03 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.23. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 2.25% and a negative net margin of 0.21%.The firm had revenue of $330.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS 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, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th 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 is Monday, March 16th. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -24.62%.

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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