Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS Shares Bought by Whitebark Investors LP

Whitebark Investors LP grew its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) by 24.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 729,194 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 143,249 shares during the quarter. Telephone and Data Systems comprises about 16.4% of Whitebark Investors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Whitebark Investors LP owned 0.64% of Telephone and Data Systems worth $25,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,485 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,544 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,243 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 11,596 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

Telephone and Data Systems stock opened at $39.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.39 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.80 and a 200-day moving average of $36.80. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.51 and a 52 week high of $42.74.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The Wireless communications provider reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.04). The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on TDS. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Insider Transactions at Telephone and Data Systems

In related news, CFO Vicki L. Villacrez sold 26,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $1,027,552.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,715.08. This represents a 98.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Prudence E. Carlson sold 4,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total value of $171,402.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 311,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,973,692.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 276,650 shares of company stock valued at $10,690,789. 14.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.