Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $45.93 and last traded at $45.2330, with a volume of 38522 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on TDS. Citigroup boosted their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telephone and Data Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.67.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.96 and its 200-day moving average is $39.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.77 and a beta of 0.32.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $308.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.73) EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total value of $34,069.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 14.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TDS. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 56,625 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the fourth quarter worth $220,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 15,944 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 6,895 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,696 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 1,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 681 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.