Telephone and Data Systems (TDS) Competitors

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) and United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, community ranking, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Is TDS or USM more profitable?

United States Cellular has a net margin of -0.79% compared to Telephone and Data Systems' net margin of -10.72%. United States Cellular's return on equity of 1.55% beat Telephone and Data Systems' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Telephone and Data Systems	-10.72%	1.12%	0.40%
United States Cellular	-0.79%	1.55%	0.68%

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer TDS or USM?

Telephone and Data Systems received 50 more outperform votes than United States Cellular when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 65.40% of users gave Telephone and Data Systems an outperform vote while only 55.73% of users gave United States Cellular an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Telephone and Data Systems	Outperform Votes 293 65.40%	Underperform Votes 155 34.60%
United States Cellular	Outperform Votes 243 55.73%	Underperform Votes 193 44.27%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in TDS or USM?

80.0% of Telephone and Data Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.0% of United States Cellular shares are held by institutional investors. 14.5% of Telephone and Data Systems shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of United States Cellular shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has better earnings & valuation, TDS or USM?

United States Cellular has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Telephone and Data Systems. United States Cellular is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Telephone and Data Systems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Telephone and Data Systems	$4.96B	0.82	-$500M	-$0.86	-41.49
United States Cellular	$3.77B	1.45	$54M	-$0.47	-137.11

Does the media prefer TDS or USM?

In the previous week, Telephone and Data Systems had 8 more articles in the media than United States Cellular. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Telephone and Data Systems and 3 mentions for United States Cellular. Telephone and Data Systems' average media sentiment score of 1.47 beat United States Cellular's score of 1.10 indicating that Telephone and Data Systems is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Telephone and Data Systems	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
United States Cellular	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend TDS or USM?

Telephone and Data Systems currently has a consensus price target of $53.50, indicating a potential upside of 49.94%. United States Cellular has a consensus price target of $86.33, indicating a potential upside of 33.97%. Given Telephone and Data Systems' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Telephone and Data Systems is more favorable than United States Cellular.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Telephone and Data Systems	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
United States Cellular	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has more volatility & risk, TDS or USM?

Telephone and Data Systems has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United States Cellular has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Telephone and Data Systems beats United States Cellular on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.