STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Citigroup

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on STM. StockNews.com cut shares of STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of STMicroelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $45.80 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics from $54.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Craig Hallum lowered their target price on shares of STMicroelectronics from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of STMicroelectronics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STMicroelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.13.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

STMicroelectronics stock opened at $27.94 on Thursday. STMicroelectronics has a 1 year low of $27.44 and a 1 year high of $51.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 3.35 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market cap of $25.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 144.2% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in STMicroelectronics in the 1st quarter worth $113,000. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About STMicroelectronics

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.