Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $33.89 and last changing hands around $34.26, as investors continued to pressure the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Raymond James downgraded the stock to market perform, while the overall consensus sits at Hold with an average price target of $53.33.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.11 EPS versus estimates for a loss, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share for a modest 0.5% annualized yield.

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $33.89 and last traded at $34.26, with a volume of 1008446 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Telephone and Data Systems from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Telephone and Data Systems has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.46. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 64.59 and a beta of 0.30.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $1.98. The firm had revenue of $309.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $313.27 million. Telephone and Data Systems had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 6.15%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.09) EPS. Analysts expect that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TDS. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 681 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the third quarter worth $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 2,779.5% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,123 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 29.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter valued at about $90,000. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Telephone and Data Systems

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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