How to buy Telephone and Data Systems stock

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc is a telecom services business based in the US. Telephone and Data Systems shares (TDS) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Telephone and Data Systems employs 9,200 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around 0.00.

Telephone and Data Systems share price

Use our graph to track the performance of TDS stocks over time.

Telephone and Data Systems shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-04-23.

52-week range	$15.98 - $24.06
50-day moving average	$22.78
200-day moving average	$19.85
Wall St. target price	$32.50
PE ratio	12.2641
Dividend yield	$0.68 (2.86%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	$1.94

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Is it a good time to buy Telephone and Data Systems stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

Is Telephone and Data Systems under- or over-valued?

Valuing Telephone and Data Systems stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Telephone and Data Systems's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Telephone and Data Systems's P/E ratio

Telephone and Data Systems's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 12x. In other words, Telephone and Data Systems shares trade at around 12x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

Telephone and Data Systems's PEG ratio

Telephone and Data Systems's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 4.56. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Telephone and Data Systems's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Telephone and Data Systems's EBITDA

Telephone and Data Systems's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is $1.2 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Telephone and Data Systems's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Telephone and Data Systems financials

Revenue TTM	$5.2 billion
Operating margin TTM	5.38%
Gross profit TTM	$2.9 billion
Return on assets TTM	1.51%
Return on equity TTM	4.88%
Profit margin	4.33%
Book value	$42.14
Market capitalisation	$2.7 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Telephone and Data Systems shares

There are currently 2.1 million Telephone and Data Systems shares held short by investors – that's known as Telephone and Data Systems's "short interest". This figure is 18.1% down from 2.6 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Telephone and Data Systems shares can be evaluated.

Telephone and Data Systems's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

Telephone and Data Systems's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Telephone and Data Systems shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Telephone and Data Systems shares traded daily (recently around 1.5 million). Telephone and Data Systems's SIR currently stands at 1.43. In other words for every 100,000 Telephone and Data Systems shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1430 shares are currently held short.

However Telephone and Data Systems's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Telephone and Data Systems shares, or, against the total number of tradable Telephone and Data Systems shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Telephone and Data Systems's short interest could be expressed as 0.02% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Telephone and Data Systems shares in existence, roughly 20 shares are currently held short) or 0.0264% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Telephone and Data Systems shares, roughly 26 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Telephone and Data Systems.

Find out more about how you can short Telephone and Data Systems stock.

Telephone and Data Systems share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 35.49% of net profits

Recently Telephone and Data Systems has paid out, on average, around 35.49% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 2.95% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Telephone and Data Systems shareholders could enjoy a 2.95% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Telephone and Data Systems's case, that would currently equate to about $0.68 per share.

While Telephone and Data Systems's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that Telephone and Data Systems may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.

Telephone and Data Systems's most recent dividend payout was on 30 March 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 15 March 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have Telephone and Data Systems's shares ever split?

Telephone and Data Systems's shares were split on a 1087:1000 basis on 24 January 2012. So if you had owned 1000 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 1087 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Telephone and Data Systems shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 8% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Telephone and Data Systems shares which in turn could have impacted Telephone and Data Systems's share price.

Telephone and Data Systems share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Telephone and Data Systems's shares have ranged in value from as little as $15.9816 up to $24.055. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Telephone and Data Systems's is 1.2118. This would suggest that Telephone and Data Systems's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

Telephone and Data Systems overview

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. , a telecommunications company, provides communications services in the United States. It operates through three segments: UScellular, Wireline, and Cable. 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, asset management, smart water solutions, and end-to-end IoT solutions; wireless priority services and quality priority and preemption options; smartphones and other handsets, tablets, wearables, mobile hotspots, routers, and IoT devices; and accessories, such as cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards, as well as consumer electronics, including headphones, smart speakers, and home automation and business management solutions. It also provides replace and repair services; Trade-In program through which it buys customers' used equipment; internet connections and all-home WI-FI services; TDS TV+, an integrated cloud television platform that offers video content; local and long-distance telephone service, VoIP, and enhanced services; and broadband, IP-based services, and hosted voice and video collaboration services. It sells its products through retail sales, direct sales, third-party retailers, and independent agents, as well as through ecommerce and telesales. As of December 31, 2020, the company offers its services to customers 5 million wireless connections, and 1.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Telephone and Data Systems is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 6.44% of Telephone and Data Systems shares are held by insiders and 89.803% by institutions.

• How many people work for Telephone and Data Systems?

  Latest data suggests 9,200 work at Telephone and Data Systems.

• When does the fiscal year end for Telephone and Data Systems?

  Telephone and Data Systems's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Telephone and Data Systems based?

  Telephone and Data Systems's address is: 30 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL, United States, 60602

• What is Telephone and Data Systems's ISIN number?

  Telephone and Data Systems's international securities identification number is: US8794338298

• What is Telephone and Data Systems's CUSIP number?

  Telephone and Data Systems's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 879433100