Universal Display’s (OLED) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $198.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. TheStreet raised Universal Display from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Citigroup reissued a neutral rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up previously from $161.00) on shares of Universal Display in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $210.00) on shares of Universal Display in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Universal Display from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $199.86.

Universal Display Price Performance

OLED opened at $168.45 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.45. Universal Display has a one year low of $125.98 and a one year high of $194.84.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $158.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.08 million. Universal Display had a net margin of 35.22% and a return on equity of 14.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Universal Display will post 4.72 EPS for the current year.

Universal Display Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Universal Display’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Universal Display’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Display

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Universal Display by 1,715.2% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,210,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $130,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,252 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Universal Display during the fourth quarter valued at $101,088,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Universal Display in the second quarter worth $43,127,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Universal Display by 6.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,266,391 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $712,274,000 after buying an additional 241,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Universal Display in the first quarter valued at $29,631,000. 78.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Universal Display

Universal Display Corporation engages in the research, development, and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in display and solid-state lighting applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers PHOLED technologies and materials for displays and lighting products under the UniversalPHOLED brand.