Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on TDS. Citigroup upped their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Telephone and Data Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

Telephone and Data Systems stock opened at $40.53 on Friday. Telephone and Data Systems has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $49.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.43 and a quick ratio of 3.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 76.48 and a beta of 0.33.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.98. Telephone and Data Systems had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 6.15%.The business had revenue of $309.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.09) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.19%.

Institutional Trading of Telephone and Data Systems

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 51.3% in the fourth 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. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 65.6% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 699 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 121.3% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 830 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

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.