Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Cut to “Sell (D+)” at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) from a hold (c-) rating to a sell (d+) rating in a research report released on Friday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on TDS. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

Shares of TDS opened at $38.95 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.15 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.04. Telephone and Data Systems has a 1 year low of $26.95 and a 1 year high of $42.74.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The Wireless communications provider reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 0.85% and a positive return on equity of 0.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is -16.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Telephone and Data Systems

In other news, SVP Joseph R. Hanley sold 68,759 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.16, for a total value of $2,623,843.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 60,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,307,649.68. This represents a 53.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 8,608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $336,486.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $667,930.83. The trade was a 33.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,650 shares of company stock worth $10,690,789 over the last three months. 14.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 21.4% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 8,500 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 8.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,544 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter worth $215,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 8.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,243 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter worth $336,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

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.