Royce & Associates LP Makes New Investment in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP opened a new position in Telephone and Data Systems, buying 104,487 shares worth about $4.28 million in the fourth quarter.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.11 per share versus analysts’ estimate of a loss, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $309.45 million.
• Telephone and Data Systems also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average with a target price of $53.33.

Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 104,487 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,284,000. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.09% of Telephone and Data Systems 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 added to or reduced their stakes in TDS. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 681 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,866 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 65.6% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 699 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 0.9% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 36,829 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $1,445,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 22,522 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TDS opened at $39.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 3.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.57. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $49.12. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.86 and a beta of 0.33.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $1.98. Telephone and Data Systems had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The firm had revenue of $309.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.09) earnings per share. Telephone and Data Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.33.

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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