United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) shot up 3.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $56.26 and last traded at $56.17. 40,642 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 259,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on USM. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United States Cellular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $38.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of United States Cellular from $51.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th.

United States Cellular Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.34 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.95.

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. United States Cellular had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 1.55%. The business had revenue of $927.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.96 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.05 EPS. United States Cellular’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United States Cellular Co. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United States Cellular news, EVP Kevin R. Lowell sold 37,597 shares of United States Cellular stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.34, for a total transaction of $1,855,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United States Cellular

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of USM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in United States Cellular by 3.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,299,323 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $128,349,000 after buying an additional 72,843 shares in the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of United States Cellular by 13.1% during the first 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 period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in United States Cellular by 3.3% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 47,267 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in United States Cellular by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 680,300 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $37,974,000 after purchasing an additional 20,785 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in United States Cellular during the 2nd quarter worth about $22,394,000. 18.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.