Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Stock Price Down 5.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• TDS shares fell 5.1% to about $33.88 in low-volume trading, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: two analysts rate the stock Buy and three rate it Hold, producing a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $47.50.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations by a wide margin, though revenue missed estimates; TDS also pays a $0.04 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 0.5%.

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) fell 5.1% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $34.31 and last traded at $33.8760. 122,213 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 1,169,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TDS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.50.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.69.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $2.15. The business had revenue of $309.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.78 million. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.05) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems's payout ratio is presently 5.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,096,000. Oaktree Capital Management LP increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 4,292,243 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $180,703,000 after buying an additional 603,857 shares during the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $21,040,000. Knighthead Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,764,000. Finally, Carronade Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 4,623,934 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $194,668,000 after buying an additional 420,340 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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