Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 7,449 Shares of United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,181 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,449 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of United States Cellular worth $9,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 3.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,299,323 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $128,349,000 after buying an additional 72,843 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in United States Cellular in the 2nd quarter worth about $589,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in 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. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in United States Cellular by 10.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,636 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in United States Cellular by 3.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 247,985 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $13,552,000 after purchasing an additional 8,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 18.03% of the company’s stock.

United States Cellular Stock Up 0.8 %

USM opened at $62.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -174.22 and a beta of 0.48. United States Cellular Co. has a one year low of $32.01 and a one year high of $68.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on USM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United States Cellular from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on United States Cellular from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded United States Cellular from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

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.