United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM – Get Rating) released its earnings results on Thursday. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. United States Cellular had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 3.18%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis.

United States Cellular Stock Performance

NYSE USM traded up $1.55 on Friday, hitting $30.61. The stock had a trading volume of 223,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,914. United States Cellular has a one year low of $25.44 and a one year high of $33.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $29.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of United States Cellular from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United States Cellular news, Director Ronald E. Daly sold 3,359 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.97, for a total value of $97,310.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,083.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United States Cellular

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in USM. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 31,500 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 66,307 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 13,757 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,615 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 4,048 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 58.5% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,957 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,897,981 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $57,376,000 after acquiring an additional 27,697 shares during the period. 16.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United States Cellular Company Profile

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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 devices, such as smartphones and other handsets, tablets, wearables, mobile hotspots, routers, and internet of things devices.