Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Receives $53.33 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.3333.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TDS. Weiss Ratings raised Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 42,165 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 8,640 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,125 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,574,000 after acquiring an additional 11,769 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 58,721 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $241,000. 80.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

NYSE TDS opened at $44.95 on Friday. Telephone and Data Systems has a 52-week low of $31.07 and a 52-week high of $47.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.15 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.19 and a 200-day moving average of $40.75.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.23. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 2.25% and a negative net margin of 0.21%.The business had revenue of $330.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $319.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.10) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -24.62%.

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.