Short Interest in NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) Expands By 24.2%

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,240,000 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the December 15th total of 7,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NXP Semiconductors

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ORG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 915.4% in the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 132 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in NXP Semiconductors in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in NXP Semiconductors by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 161 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 218 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 182.1% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 90.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NXPI shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on NXP Semiconductors from $287.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho set a $290.00 target price on NXP Semiconductors in a report on Friday, October 18th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on NXP Semiconductors from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on NXP Semiconductors in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.81.

NXP Semiconductors Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NXPI traded up $4.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $215.36. 1,921,230 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,984,350. The company has a market cap of $54.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. NXP Semiconductors has a 12-month low of $202.25 and a 12-month high of $296.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.39.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The semiconductor provider reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. NXP Semiconductors had a net margin of 20.98% and a return on equity of 33.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that NXP Semiconductors will post 11.33 EPS for the current year.

NXP Semiconductors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $1.014 per share. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. NXP Semiconductors’s payout ratio is 38.74%.

NXP Semiconductors Company Profile

NXP Semiconductors N.V. offers various semiconductor products. The company's product portfolio includes microcontrollers; application processors, including i.MX application processors, and i.MX 8 and 9 family of applications processors; communication processors; wireless connectivity solutions, such as near field communications, ultra-wideband, Bluetooth low-energy, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth integrated SoCs; analog and interface devices; radio frequency power amplifiers; and security controllers, as well as semiconductor-based environmental and inertial sensors, including pressure, inertial, magnetic, and gyroscopic sensors.