Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Raised to Hold (C-) at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Telephone and Data Systems was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "sell (d+)" to a "hold (c-)" rating, indicating a more favorable outlook for the company.
• The company's stock has an average price target of $52.00, with multiple analysts giving it a "Moderate Buy" rating.
• TDS recently reported a loss of $0.05 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimate, despite revenue of $1.19 billion, which was above expectations.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

TDS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Telephone and Data Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.00.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

TDS traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.39. The stock had a trading volume of 669,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,639. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.78. Telephone and Data Systems has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $42.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.61 and a beta of 0.39. The company's 50-day moving average price is $38.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.94.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Telephone and Data Systems news, SVP Joseph R. Hanley sold 68,759 shares of the 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 directly owned 60,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,307,649.68. This represents a 53.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 29,047 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total value of $1,133,413.94. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 19,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $776,185.84. The trade was a 59.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 276,650 shares of company stock valued at $10,690,789 over the last 90 days. 14.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Telephone and Data Systems

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Third Point LLC raised its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 6,760,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $261,882,000 after buying an additional 760,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,354,795 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $246,181,000 after acquiring an additional 107,501 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 4.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,607,857 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $128,368,000 after acquiring an additional 137,494 shares in the last quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 239.3% in the second quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 3,392,500 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $120,705,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,323,551 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $82,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,999 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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