Millicom International Cellular S.A. (NASDAQ:TIGO) Short Interest Up 78.7% in January

Millicom International Cellular S.A. (NASDAQ:TIGO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,420,000 shares, a growth of 78.7% from the January 15th total of 794,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 217,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.5 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Millicom International Cellular Price Performance

NASDAQ TIGO remained flat at $27.14 during trading hours on Thursday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 298,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,553. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66. Millicom International Cellular has a 12 month low of $15.55 and a 12 month high of $28.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.24.

Millicom International Cellular Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. Millicom International Cellular’s payout ratio is 106.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on TIGO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Millicom International Cellular from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC raised Millicom International Cellular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Millicom International Cellular in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Millicom International Cellular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.22.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Millicom International Cellular

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Millicom International Cellular by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,075 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Millicom International Cellular by 5.3% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 14,815 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Millicom International Cellular by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 7,030 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Millicom International Cellular by 159.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,223 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Millicom International Cellular by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 154,661 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period.

Millicom International Cellular Company Profile

Millicom International Cellular SA provides cable and mobile services in Latin America. It offers mobile services, including mobile data and voice, and short message services; and mobile financial services, such as payments, money transfers, international remittances, savings, real-time loans, and micro-insurance.