Short Interest in United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) Increases By 28.6%

United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 665,700 shares, an increase of 28.6% from the December 31st total of 517,700 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 142,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in USM. State Street Corp boosted its stake in United States Cellular by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 106,343 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $5,812,000 after acquiring an additional 12,219 shares during the last quarter. Mariner Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United States Cellular in the 4th quarter worth about $1,944,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of United States Cellular by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,636 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 2,405 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 13,467 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United States Cellular by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 166,181 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $9,085,000 after buying an additional 7,449 shares during the period. 18.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United States Cellular Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:USM traded down $0.27 during trading on Monday, reaching $62.53. The stock had a trading volume of 79,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,455. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -173.69 and a beta of 0.47. United States Cellular has a fifty-two week low of $32.01 and a fifty-two week high of $68.31.

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $940.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. United States Cellular's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that United States Cellular will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on USM shares. Raymond James raised shares of United States Cellular from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $86.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of United States Cellular from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of United States Cellular from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

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.