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

Millicom International Cellular S.A. (NASDAQ:TIGO) saw 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 stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Millicom International Cellular in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,587,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Millicom International Cellular in the 2nd quarter worth $215,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Millicom International Cellular by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,767 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Millicom International Cellular by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 14,815 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp purchased a new stake in Millicom International Cellular in the 3rd quarter worth $231,000.

Millicom International Cellular Price Performance

Shares of Millicom International Cellular stock remained flat at $27.14 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 quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.24. Millicom International Cellular has a twelve month low of $15.55 and a twelve month high of $28.75. The company has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87 and a beta of 1.18.

Millicom International Cellular Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TIGO. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Millicom International Cellular in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. HSBC raised Millicom International Cellular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Millicom International Cellular from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Millicom International Cellular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.22.

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.