United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James upgraded United States Cellular from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 USM stock opened at $63.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.55. United States Cellular has a one year low of $32.01 and a one year high of $68.31. The firm has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -176.68 and a beta of 0.48.

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $922.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $940.40 million. United States Cellular had a negative net margin of 0.79% and a positive return on equity of 1.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts expect that United States Cellular will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Cellular

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of USM. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of United States Cellular in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,394,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in United States Cellular by 3.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 247,985 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $13,552,000 after buying an additional 8,416 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $9,085,000 after buying an additional 7,449 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 143,021 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $7,816,000 after acquiring an additional 31,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of United States Cellular by 13.0% in 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 period. 18.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.