Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) CFO Sells $1,027,552.68 in Stock

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) CFO Vicki Villacrez sold 26,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $1,027,552.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,715.08. This trade represents a 98.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Up 0.1%

TDS stock opened at $39.0520 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.33. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.45 and a fifty-two week high of $42.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of -40.26 and a beta of 0.54.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The Wireless communications provider reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.04). Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 0.85% and a positive return on equity of 0.92%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -16.49%.

Institutional Trading of Telephone and Data Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TDS. Third Point LLC lifted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 108.7% during the fourth quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 6,000,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $204,660,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125,000 shares during the last quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 239.3% during the second quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 3,392,500 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $120,705,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392,500 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter worth $43,429,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the second quarter worth $22,531,000. Finally, Silver Point Capital L.P. lifted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Silver Point Capital L.P. now owns 1,840,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $62,762,000 after purchasing an additional 590,000 shares during the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TDS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Telephone and Data Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.00.

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.