Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS Stock Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates cut its Telephone and Data Systems stake by 57.2% in the third quarter, selling 120,126 shares and retaining 89,891 shares valued at approximately $3.05 million. Hedge funds and other institutional investors collectively own 80% of TDS.
• TDS shares opened at $35.42, near their 52-week range of $30.71 to $49.12. The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.24, significantly above the $0.09 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 3.6% year over year to $309.28 million but missed expectations.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious view, with an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.50. TDS also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share, equivalent to a 0.5% annualized yield.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) by 57.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,891 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after selling 120,126 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Telephone and Data Systems worth $3,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,705,000. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 16.5% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 410,666 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $13,930,000 after acquiring an additional 58,169 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 310.4% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,060 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 15,172 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the second quarter worth approximately $511,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 9.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 81,383 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $3,012,000 after acquiring an additional 6,692 shares during the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

Shares of TDS stock opened at $35.42 on Friday. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.71 and a 52-week high of $49.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.84.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $2.15. The company had revenue of $309.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.78 million. Telephone and Data Systems had a return on equity of 11.97% and a net margin of 33.20%. Telephone and Data Systems's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.05) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TDS. Zacks Research downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Telephone and Data Systems from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.50.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc NYSE: TDS is a telecommunications holding company that provides broadband and communications services in communities across the United States. Its principal operating business is TDS Telecom, which serves residential, business and wholesale customers with internet access, fiber-optic and other broadband connections, voice services, video entertainment and related communications solutions.

TDS Telecom focuses on expanding high-speed broadband availability in rural and suburban markets.

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