Telephone and Data price target lowered to $15 from $16 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery lowered the firm’s price target on Telephone and Data (TDS) to $15 from $16 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Wireline Telecom Services stocks are down about 8% on average in Q2 and down about 27% on average in the first half as investors continue to focus on risks to the group from secular and competitive pressures on revenues, fiber spending squeezing free cash flow, balance sheet considerations, and now potential exposure to lead sheathed cable remediation, the analyst tells investors in a group preview note. The firm has no Overweight ratings within the group and are Underweight Lumen (LUMN), Uniti Group (UNIT) and recently Frontier Communications (FYBR), the analyst added.