Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $38.37 and traded as high as $41.06. Telephone and Data Systems shares last traded at $40.9160, with a volume of 594,266 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TDS. Zacks Research raised Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a research note on Monday. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.67.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.88 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.37.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.13. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 1.15% and a negative net margin of 1.46%.The company had revenue of $308.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.73) EPS. Telephone and Data Systems’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems’s payout ratio is currently -14.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Telephone and Data Systems

In other news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 16,217 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total value of $632,787.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,947.40. This represents a 94.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the 1st quarter worth approximately $336,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 198.0% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,116 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 15,360 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 137,494 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 35.4% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 254,257 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 66,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 19.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 801,784 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $31,061,000 after purchasing an additional 130,282 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.