Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 66,379 Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. to approximately $11.98 million, marking a 27.3% growth in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have also altered their positions in TDS, with Third Point LLC boosting its holding by 108.7% during the fourth quarter, now owning about 6 million shares valued at over $204 million.
• Telephone and Data Systems reported a quarterly earnings loss of ($0.05) per share, missing expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share set to be paid on September 30th.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 309,312 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after purchasing an additional 66,379 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.27% of Telephone and Data Systems worth $11,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TDS. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in 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 valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,092 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:TDS traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.51. 1,449,238 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,619,328. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.70 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $36.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.78. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.04 and a fifty-two week high of $42.74.

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

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Telephone and Data Systems news, Director Prudence E. Carlson sold 6,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $240,476.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 315,457 shares in the company, valued at $12,003,138.85. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Vicki L. Villacrez sold 73,878 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $2,872,376.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 81,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,150,640.80. This trade represents a 47.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 168,497 shares of company stock worth $6,531,504 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 14.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TDS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th.

About Telephone and Data Systems

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.