Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 474,652 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after selling 14,335 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Telephone and Data Systems worth $18,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 53.1% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 191.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,965 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC purchased a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of TDS stock opened at $45.82 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of -42.43 and a beta of 0.32. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.07 and a 52-week high of $47.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.62 and its 200 day moving average is $39.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.07 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $308.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.73) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given 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 -14.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Telephone and Data Systems

In related news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total value of $34,069.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 14.48% 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.