United Microelectronics Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:UMC)

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 94,314 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 673% compared to the typical volume of 12,197 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 271.0% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,369 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new position in United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in United Microelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the second quarter valued at $210,000. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Microelectronics Stock Down 7.9%

Shares of United Microelectronics stock traded down $2.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $23.79. 16,608,214 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,518,287. United Microelectronics has a twelve month low of $6.56 and a twelve month high of $28.96. The company has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a PE ratio of 36.60, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.35.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%.The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.4122 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This is an increase from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. This represents a dividend yield of 144.0%. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is 56.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UMC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Microelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related manufacturing services to a global customer base. Founded in 1980, the company operates as a pure-play foundry, producing integrated circuits for a range of customers including fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers. UMC is publicly listed (NYSE: UMC) and focuses on high-reliability manufacturing rather than branding consumer products.

UMC’s core services encompass wafer fabrication using a portfolio of process technologies, with particular emphasis on mature and specialty nodes that support analog, power-management, radio-frequency (RF), and mixed-signal applications.