Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $47.03 and last traded at $46.58, with a volume of 1368040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.67.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.69. The stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.13 and a beta of 0.32.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $308.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 1.46% and a positive return on equity of 1.15%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.73) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total transaction of $34,069.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 14.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Telephone and Data Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 22,522 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,533,000. Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $369,000. 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.