TIM S.A. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:TIMB) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 19.3% to 3,399,044 shares as of April 15 (about 0.7% of shares short), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 6.2 days.
• Several institutional investors materially increased positions—Citadel Advisors grew its stake by 878.4% to ~370,982 shares, while Millennium Management and Renaissance Technologies also notably added to their holdings.
• The company declared a special dividend of $0.1552 payable May 7 (record/ex-dividend date March 30), and analysts show a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $26.40 as the stock trades near $25.96.

TIM S.A. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:TIMB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,399,044 shares, a decline of 19.3% from the March 31st total of 4,212,023 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 546,428 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Institutional Trading of TIM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of TIM by 878.4% in the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 370,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,280,000 after purchasing an additional 333,066 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of TIM during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,393,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in TIM by 460.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 105,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 86,545 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in TIM by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,848,386 shares of the company's stock worth $35,951,000 after buying an additional 82,700 shares during the period. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of TIM during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,424,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TIMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut shares of TIM from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bradesco Corretora downgraded TIM to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of TIM from $23.60 to $29.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. New Street Research upgraded shares of TIM from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on TIM from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.40.

TIM Stock Performance

Shares of TIMB stock traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $25.96. 278,724 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 385,586. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.75. TIM has a 12 month low of $16.21 and a 12 month high of $28.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.48.

TIM (NYSE:TIMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. TIM had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 16.28%.The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that TIM will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

TIM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th will be paid a $0.1552 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 30th. TIM's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

TIM Company Profile

TIM SA, a telecommunications company, provides mobile voice, data, and broadband services in Brazil. The company offers in mobile, landline, long-distance, and data transmission services. It also offers fixed ultra-broadband, fixed ultraband broadband, and digital content services. The company serves individuals and corporates, as well as small, medium, and large companies. TIM S.A is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company operates as a subsidiary of TIM Brasil Serviços e Participações SA

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