United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) Short Interest Down 40.3% in October

United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 540,300 shares, a decline of 40.3% from the October 15th total of 904,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 162,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in United States Cellular by 3.3% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,480,017 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $54,021,000 after purchasing an additional 47,267 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of United States Cellular by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 659,515 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $24,072,000 after buying an additional 9,815 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in shares of United States Cellular during the 1st quarter worth $264,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in United States Cellular by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,592,792 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $58,137,000 after acquiring an additional 184,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in United States Cellular in the 2nd quarter valued at about $115,000. 18.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on USM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on United States Cellular from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James raised United States Cellular from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of United States Cellular from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday.

United States Cellular Stock Performance

United States Cellular stock opened at $63.53 on Wednesday. United States Cellular has a 52 week low of $32.01 and a 52 week high of $68.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $58.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $922.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $940.40 million. United States Cellular had a positive return on equity of 1.55% and a negative net margin of 0.79%. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United States Cellular will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

United States Cellular Company Profile

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.