United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $61.70, but opened at $59.61. United States Cellular shares last traded at $60.96, with a volume of 31,332 shares.

United States Cellular Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.11 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.11 and a 200 day moving average of $52.06.

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.09. United States Cellular had a return on equity of 1.55% and a net margin of 1.88%. The firm had revenue of $922.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $940.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that United States Cellular Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kevin R. Lowell sold 37,597 shares of United States Cellular stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.34, for a total transaction of $1,855,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of USM. TCW Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 200.8% during the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 212,294 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $11,850,000 after buying an additional 141,713 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 659,515 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $24,072,000 after buying an additional 9,815 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,665 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $6,959,000 after buying an additional 14,678 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,299,323 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $128,349,000 after buying an additional 72,843 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of United States Cellular during the second quarter worth approximately $589,000. 18.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.