Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) Short Interest Down 14.1% in December

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) saw a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,810,000 shares, a drop of 14.1% from the November 30th total of 3,270,000 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TDS. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 10.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,302 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 1.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,514 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 13,589 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,643 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 31,770 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:TDS traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.04. 81,684 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,083,624. Telephone and Data Systems has a fifty-two week low of $13.69 and a fifty-two week high of $35.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.30 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.59.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.19. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 1.12% and a negative net margin of 10.72%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on TDS shares. Raymond James raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

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.