How to buy Telephone and Data Systems stock | $19.08

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 9,300 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$5.2 billion.

How to buy shares in Telephone and Data Systems

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Telephone and Data Systems. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: TDS. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Telephone and Data Systems reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$19.08, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Telephone and Data Systems, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Telephone and Data Systems. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

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 2020-12-07.

Latest market close	USD$19.08
52-week range	USD$13.6785 - USD$24.9621
50-day moving average	USD$18.2476
200-day moving average	USD$19.9915
Wall St. target price	USD$31.9
PE ratio	9.9322
Dividend yield	USD$0.68 (3.56%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$1.918

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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.

Telephone and Data Systems price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $19.08 from 2020-12-09

1 week (2021-01-05)	1.17%
1 month (2020-12-12)	N/A
3 months (2020-10-12)	-0.05%
6 months (2020-07-12)	N/A

1 year (2020-01-12)	N/A
2 years (2019-01-12)	N/A
3 years (2018-01-12)	27.16
5 years (2016-01-12)	23.97

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 10x. In other words, Telephone and Data Systems shares trade at around 10x 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 USD$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	USD$5.2 billion
Operating margin TTM	5.17%
Gross profit TTM	USD$2.8 billion
Return on assets TTM	1.47%
Return on equity TTM	4.89%
Profit margin	4.3%
Book value	$42.021
Market capitalisation	USD$2 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 0.3% up from 2.1 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 853295.52845528). Telephone and Data Systems's SIR currently stands at 2.46. In other words for every 100,000 Telephone and Data Systems shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2460 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 0.0285% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Telephone and Data Systems shares, roughly 29 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: 35.6% of net profits

Recently Telephone and Data Systems has paid out, on average, around 35.6% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 3.56% 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 3.56% 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 December 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 15 December 2020 (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 25 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 $13.6785 up to $24.9621. 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 1.2047. 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: U.S. Cellular, Wireline, and Cable. The company offers cellular services to postpaid and prepaid customers, including retail consumers, government entities, and business customers located in its service territories; national plans with voice, messaging, and data usage options; and advanced wireless solutions, such as machine-to-machine solution and software applications for various categories of monitor and control, business automation/operations, communication, and asset management. It also provides wireless devices comprising handsets, tablets, mobile hotspots, home phones, and routers; and accessories that include wireless essentials, which comprise cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards, as well as various consumer electronics, such as headphones, smart speakers, wearables, and home automation products. In addition, the company offers wireline services to residential customers comprising broadband and digital television video services, as well as voice services, such as local and long-distance telephone, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), find me follow me, collaboration, instant messaging, and other services; broadband, IP-based, and hosted voice and collaboration services to small- and medium-sized businesses; and wireline services to traditional interexchange and wireless carriers. Further, it provides business services, including data networking, Ethernet, broadband access, and VoIP services to small- and medium-sized businesses, as well as operates 262 retail stores and kiosks. The company offers its services to approximately 6 million connections. It sells its products through retail sales, direct sales, third-party retailers, and independent agents, as well as through website and telesales. The company was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Frequently asked questions

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

  Currently 6.648% of Telephone and Data Systems shares are held by insiders and 90.826% by institutions.

• How many people work for Telephone and Data Systems?

  Latest data suggests 9,300 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