STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Stock Price Up 5.9% – Still a Buy?

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) traded up 5.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.06 and last traded at $28.04. 12,665,903 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 80% from the average session volume of 7,024,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of STMicroelectronics from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on shares of STMicroelectronics from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.26.

STMicroelectronics Trading Up 6.0 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.63 and its 200-day moving average is $26.86. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.51.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 11.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that STMicroelectronics will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. STMicroelectronics’s payout ratio is currently 18.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STM. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in STMicroelectronics during the fourth quarter worth about $3,108,000. GTS Securities LLC increased its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 213.2% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 36,276 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 68,320 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 15,156 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $492,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 3,330,616 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $83,165,000 after purchasing an additional 938,097 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.