Millicom International Cellular SA (NASDAQ:TIGO) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 41.9% in April to 3,567,332 shares (about 2.1% of the company's shares), leaving a short-interest ratio of 2.9 days.
• Millicom posted a strong quarter, beating estimates with $1.50 EPS vs. $1.05 expected and revenue of $1.65B vs. $1.49B, with revenue up 15.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 (annualized $3.00, 3.7% yield); shares were recently down about 3.1% at $80.29, with a market cap of $13.57B and a P/E of 10.20.

Millicom International Cellular SA (NASDAQ:TIGO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,567,332 shares, a growth of 41.9% from the March 31st total of 2,514,102 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,241,325 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Millicom International Cellular

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EWA LLC boosted its stake in Millicom International Cellular by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. EWA LLC now owns 7,025 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Millicom International Cellular by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 11,455 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Millicom International Cellular by 155.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Millicom International Cellular by 140.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 573 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Millicom International Cellular by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 44,587 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,472,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the period.

Millicom International Cellular Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of Millicom International Cellular stock traded down $2.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.29. The company had a trading volume of 256,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,348,994. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.25 and a 200 day moving average of $61.44. Millicom International Cellular has a 52-week low of $30.26 and a 52-week high of $85.05.

Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ:TIGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Millicom International Cellular had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 22.62%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Millicom International Cellular will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Millicom International Cellular Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 8th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Millicom International Cellular's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised Millicom International Cellular from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $49.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Millicom International Cellular in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Millicom International Cellular from $43.00 to $51.20 and gave the company a "sector underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Millicom International Cellular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Millicom International Cellular in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.64.

Millicom International Cellular Company Profile

Millicom International Cellular SA, trading under the TIGO brand, is a Luxembourg‐headquartered telecommunications and media company that provides a range of mobile, cable broadband, digital television and enterprise services. Through its integrated infrastructure, the company delivers voice and data connectivity, high‐speed internet access and pay‐television packages to millions of customers, supported by ongoing investments in network coverage and capacity.

Established in 1990 by Swedish investor Jan Stenbeck, Millicom has grown into a multi‐regional operator focused primarily on Central and South America.

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