United Microelectronics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:UMC)

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 94,314 call options on the company. This is an increase of 673% compared to the average daily volume of 12,197 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 3,854.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 168,648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 164,383 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 792,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,228,000 after purchasing an additional 95,871 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 495,589 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 70,597 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $1,924,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter worth about $5,197,000. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UMC traded down $2.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.79. The company had a trading volume of 16,608,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,518,287. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.23 and its 200 day moving average is $13.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.89 billion, a PE ratio of 36.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.58. United Microelectronics has a twelve month low of $6.56 and a twelve month high of $28.96.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Microelectronics will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

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

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.