Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS) To Go Ex-Dividend on September 15th

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.04 per share by the Wireless communications provider on Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th.

Telephone and Data Systems has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years. Telephone and Data Systems has a dividend payout ratio of -64.0% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Telephone and Data Systems to earn $0.15 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 106.7%.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE TDS opened at $34.59 on Friday. Telephone and Data Systems has a one year low of $31.51 and a one year high of $49.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.82 and a quick ratio of 3.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $35.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.32.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $2.15. Telephone and Data Systems had a return on equity of 11.97% and a net margin of 33.20%.The company had revenue of $309.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.05) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Telephone and Data Systems will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc (NYSE: TDS) is a diversified telecommunications company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides a broad array of communications services, including wireless voice and data, wireline broadband and voice, cable television, and managed IT and cloud solutions. Its two primary operating units—TDS Telecom and U.S. Cellular—serve residential, business and wholesale customers across the United States.

TDS Telecom focuses on delivering broadband internet, digital voice, video and data communications services in primarily rural and suburban markets.