STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Short Interest Update

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,340,000 shares, a drop of 33.5% from the September 15th total of 11,040,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STM. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on STMicroelectronics from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered STMicroelectronics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $35.50 to $45.80 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.13.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

STM remained flat at $27.94 during trading hours on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 2,583,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,840,429. STMicroelectronics has a 12-month low of $27.44 and a 12-month high of $51.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.38 and its 200-day moving average is $36.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.57.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that STMicroelectronics will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. STMicroelectronics’s payout ratio is 9.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning boosted its position in STMicroelectronics by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 66,113 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after buying an additional 6,509 shares during the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 14.9% during the third quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 22,737 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 84,213 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,364 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,280,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in STMicroelectronics in the second quarter valued at $381,000. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STMicroelectronics Company Profile

STMicroelectronics N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Automotive and Discrete Group; Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group; and Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group segments.