United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $23.84, but opened at $25.60. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $25.4270, with a volume of 1,835,320 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UMC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reiterated 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Microelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Up 3.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $62.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.11, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

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. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. Research analysts predict that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 873.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in United Microelectronics by 50.7% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $64,283,000 after buying an additional 2,826,486 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in United Microelectronics by 4.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,388,868 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $56,008,000 after buying an additional 344,416 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in United Microelectronics by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,511,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,323,000 after buying an additional 1,435,780 shares during the period. 5.05% of the stock is currently 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.