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

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $36.66 and last traded at $36.33, with a volume of 82145 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TDS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Telephone and Data Systems from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.62 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 1.12% and a negative net margin of 10.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 303.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 148,427 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,077,000 after buying an additional 111,643 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 935.4% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 197,754 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $4,135,000 after acquiring an additional 178,654 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 0.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 222,288 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $4,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 34.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,950,298 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $40,430,000 after acquiring an additional 495,189 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Telephone and Data Systems

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc, a telecommunications company, provides communications services in the United States. It operates through two segments: UScellular and TDS Telecom. The company offers wireless solutions to consumers, and business and government customers, including a suite of connected Internet of things (IoT) solutions, and software applications for monitor and control, business automation/operations, communication, fleet and asset management, smart water solutions, private cellular networks and custom, and end-to-end IoT solutions; wireless priority services and quality priority and preemption options; smartphones and other handsets, tablets, wearables, mobile hotspots, fixed wireless home internet, and IoT devices; and accessories, such as cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards, as well as consumer electronics, including audio, home automation and networking products.