STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $25.91 and last traded at $25.91, with a volume of 747072 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on STM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics from $54.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Craig Hallum cut their price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.63.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $28.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.64. The firm has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.57.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.27 billion. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 13.29%. STMicroelectronics’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that STMicroelectronics will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. STMicroelectronics’s payout ratio is 12.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 144.2% in 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. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics during the second quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.