United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 552,900 shares, a decline of 16.9% from the December 31st total of 665,700 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 138,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Cellular

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of United States Cellular by 28.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 143,021 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $7,816,000 after purchasing an additional 31,934 shares in the last quarter. Mariner Investment Group LLC bought a new position in United States Cellular in the 4th quarter worth about $1,944,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in United States Cellular by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 52,688 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,879,000 after purchasing an additional 13,467 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in United States Cellular by 262.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,275 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 12,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of United States Cellular by 13.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 106,343 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $5,812,000 after buying an additional 12,219 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.03% of the company’s stock.

United States Cellular Stock Performance

NYSE USM traded down $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.85. 121,073 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 106,150. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -174.58 and a beta of 0.48. United States Cellular has a 12-month low of $32.01 and a 12-month high of $68.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.64 and a 200-day moving average of $58.87.

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

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.