GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. Lowers Stock Position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. cut its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) by 71.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,428 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after selling 137,750 shares during the quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC.’s holdings in Telephone and Data Systems were worth $2,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carronade Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 239.3% during the 2nd quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 3,392,500 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $120,705,000 after buying an additional 2,392,500 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,531,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,068,000. CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 443.5% during the 2nd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 354,080 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $12,598,000 after buying an additional 288,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,698,000. 80.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems stock opened at $44.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.73. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.15 and a beta of 0.34. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.07 and a 12 month high of $47.79.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $330.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.28 million. Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a positive return on equity of 2.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.10) earnings per share. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -24.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

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.