United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on UMC. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Microelectronics has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE UMC opened at $19.06 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.58. United Microelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $6.56 and a fifty-two week high of $28.96.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%.The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. On average, analysts predict that United Microelectronics will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a $0.4122 dividend. This is an increase from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UMC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 1,794.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 62,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 59,349 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 10.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,655,721 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $40,438,000 after buying an additional 537,777 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in United Microelectronics by 25.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 29,408 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 6,028 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in United Microelectronics during the second quarter worth $108,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in United Microelectronics by 37.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About United Microelectronics

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.