United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

USM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James raised shares of United States Cellular from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of United States Cellular from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

United States Cellular Price Performance

Shares of NYSE USM opened at $65.18 on Friday. United States Cellular has a fifty-two week low of $32.01 and a fifty-two week high of $69.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.19. The company has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -181.06 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.57.

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.15. United States Cellular had a negative net margin of 0.79% and a positive return on equity of 1.55%. The business had revenue of $970.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect that United States Cellular will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 480,250 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $30,121,000 after buying an additional 204,146 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its holdings in shares of United States Cellular by 124.6% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 114,465 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $7,179,000 after buying an additional 63,501 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in United States Cellular by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 179,909 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $11,284,000 after purchasing an additional 52,396 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in United States Cellular by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 464,685 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $29,145,000 after purchasing an additional 51,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its holdings in United States Cellular by 588.6% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 55,483 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,480,000 after purchasing an additional 47,426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.03% of the company’s stock.

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.