Does U.S. Cellular (USM) Have the Potential to Rally 31.8% as Wall Street Analysts Expect?

Core Viewpoint - United States Cellular (USM) shares have increased by 3.5% recently, with analysts suggesting a potential upside of 31.8% based on a mean price target of $85.67 [1] Price Targets - The average price target for USM ranges from a low of$85 to a high of $86, with a standard deviation of$0.58, indicating a strong consensus among analysts [2] - The lowest estimate suggests a 30.8% increase, while the highest indicates a 32.3% upside [2] - Analysts' price targets should be approached with caution, as they may not always accurately reflect future stock movements [3][5][8] Earnings Estimates - Analysts show strong agreement in revising USM's earnings estimates upward, which correlates with potential stock price increases [4][9] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has risen by 0.9% over the past month, with no negative revisions [10] - USM holds a Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy), placing it in the top 5% of over 4,000 ranked stocks based on earnings estimate factors [11] Analyst Behavior - Analysts often set optimistic price targets influenced by business relationships, which can lead to inflated expectations [6] - A low standard deviation in price targets indicates a high degree of agreement among analysts regarding the stock's price direction [7]