Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a decrease of 18.5% from the January 31st total of 1,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 702,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OLED has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Universal Display from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $200.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Universal Display from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Universal Display from $234.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Universal Display from $207.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.43.

Universal Display Price Performance

Shares of OLED stock traded down $2.56 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $150.21. The company had a trading volume of 180,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,923. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.73. The stock has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.39. Universal Display has a 52-week low of $140.17 and a 52-week high of $237.00.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.14. Universal Display had a net margin of 34.29% and a return on equity of 15.51%. The company had revenue of $162.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.75 million. Analysts anticipate that Universal Display will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Universal Display Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Universal Display’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Universal Display’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Display

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 60.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Universal Display by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,473 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Universal Display by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,065 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,910,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Universal Display by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 10,091 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.19% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Display

Universal Display Corporation engages in the research, development, and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in display and solid-state lighting applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers PHOLED technologies and materials for displays and lighting products under the UniversalPHOLED brand.