United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. HSBC raised shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $37.42 to $33.76 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered United Microelectronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Arete Research upgraded United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered United Microelectronics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $36.79.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

Shares of UMC stock opened at $16.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.01. The firm has a market cap of $41.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.76. United Microelectronics has a 12 month low of $6.97 and a 12 month high of $28.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 31.96% and a return on equity of 20.12%. Research analysts expect that United Microelectronics will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 508.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 169,183 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 141,385 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,525,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 115.3% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 86,927 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 46,549 shares during the last quarter. Delta Global Management LP acquired a new position in United Microelectronics in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,435,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the 1st quarter valued at $628,000. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

United Microelectronics Corp. (NYSE:UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuits for other companies. As a pure-play foundry, UMC focuses on producing chips designed by customers rather than marketing its own branded semiconductor products.

The company provides wafer fabrication services across a range of process technologies, with particular expertise in specialty applications such as display driver ICs, automotive semiconductors, connectivity products, image sensors, power management components and embedded memory.