GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. Increases Stake in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Key Points

• GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 58.8%, acquiring a total of 192,178 shares, which now represent 1.1% of their holdings.
• Telephone and Data Systems reported a loss of $0.05 per share in its recent earnings, missing analyst estimates, while revenue for the quarter was $1.19 billion, slightly exceeding expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share, with a yield of 0.4%, scheduled for payment on September 30th.

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. increased its position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) by 58.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,178 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after purchasing an additional 71,128 shares during the period. Telephone and Data Systems makes up 1.1% of GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. owned about 0.17% of Telephone and Data Systems worth $7,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TDS. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 121.8% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,342 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,092 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 1st quarter worth $200,000. Greenleaf Trust bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 1st quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 1st quarter worth $205,000. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Telephone and Data Systems

In related news, SVP Joseph R. Hanley sold 68,759 shares of Telephone and Data Systems stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 60,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,307,649.68. This trade represents a 53.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Prudence E. Carlson sold 4,452 shares of Telephone and Data Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 276,650 shares of company stock worth $10,690,789. Insiders own 14.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TDS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. 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 note on Tuesday, August 12th. 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 note on Tuesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TDS traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.10. 1,382,234 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,417,950. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.34 and a beta of 0.54. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $42.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.47.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The Wireless communications provider reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems's payout ratio is presently -16.49%.

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.