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

Key Points

• Short interest surged 28.1% in March to 4,212,023 shares (about 0.9% of shares outstanding), producing a short-interest ratio of 11.1 days and signaling elevated bearish positioning in TIMB.
• TIM declared a special dividend of $0.1552 per share payable May 7 (ex-dividend March 30) and recently reported Q4 EPS of $0.52, beating estimates while revenue slightly missed consensus.
• The stock has a market cap of $13.22 billion and a P/E of 17.07, with analysts holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (target $24.82); several institutions, notably Goldman Sachs, have increased holdings.

TIM S.A. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:TIMB - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,212,023 shares, a growth of 28.1% from the March 15th total of 3,288,606 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 378,647 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 11.1 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company's shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TIM

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TIMB. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of TIM by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 62,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of TIM during the 1st quarter valued at about $87,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TIM by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,056,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,539,000 after buying an additional 47,130 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of TIM by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of TIM by 117.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 5,417 shares during the period.

TIM Stock Performance

TIM stock opened at $27.31 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $26.14 and its 200-day moving average is $23.42. The company has a market cap of $13.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. TIM has a 12 month low of $14.67 and a 12 month high of $28.22.

TIM (NYSE:TIMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. TIM had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 16.28%. Equities analysts anticipate that TIM will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

TIM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.1552 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 30th. TIM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TIMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of TIM from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. New Street Research upgraded TIM from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup downgraded TIM from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded TIM from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on TIM from $23.60 to $29.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.82.

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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