United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Trading 3.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

United Microelectronics Co. (NYSE:UMC) shares were up 3.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.70 and last traded at $6.80. Approximately 948,037 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 11,737,681 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Citigroup raised United Microelectronics from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.40.

United Microelectronics Stock Up 9.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.35 and a 200-day moving average of $6.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The semiconductor company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 20.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Microelectronics Co. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UMC. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 3,091.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 14,329,393 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $92,998,000 after buying an additional 13,880,446 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 238.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,184,444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $20,667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244,574 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,768,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in United Microelectronics by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,021,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,122,000 after buying an additional 1,215,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in United Microelectronics by 314.1% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,279,600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $10,774,000 after buying an additional 970,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers.