United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.60.

UMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of United Microelectronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America cut shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 873.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,464,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $74,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,492,466 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 832.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,530,564 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,151,936 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,024,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $64,283,000 after buying an additional 2,826,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $21,235,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of UMC stock opened at $10.41 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 1.08. United Microelectronics has a 52-week low of $5.71 and a 52-week high of $12.68.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.01. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 17.60%.The company had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Microelectronics will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

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.