United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) Short Interest Up 28.6% in January

United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 665,700 shares, a growth of 28.6% from the December 31st total of 517,700 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 142,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

United States Cellular Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE USM traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $63.66. 81,125 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 115,954. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of -176.82 and a beta of 0.48. United States Cellular has a 52-week low of $32.01 and a 52-week high of $68.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $62.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.82.

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $922.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $940.40 million. United States Cellular had a positive return on equity of 1.55% and a negative net margin of 0.79%. United States Cellular’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Analysts forecast that United States Cellular will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in USM. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in shares of United States Cellular in the 2nd quarter valued at about $543,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in United States Cellular during the second quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in United States Cellular during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $420,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in United States Cellular by 130.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,762 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 2,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in shares of United States Cellular by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,238 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 18.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of United States Cellular from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James upgraded United States Cellular from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded United States Cellular from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

About United States Cellular

United States Cellular Corporation provides wireless telecommunications services in the United States. The company offers wireless services, including voice, messaging, and data services. It also provides wireless devices, such as handsets, tablets, mobile hotspots, home phones, and routers, as well as wireless essentials, including cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards; and consumer electronics comprising audio, home automation, and networking products.