Brokerages Set STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) PT at $50.75

Shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.75.

STM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered STMicroelectronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on STMicroelectronics from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on STMicroelectronics in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STM. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 448.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,214,361 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $118,169,000 after buying an additional 1,810,709 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in STMicroelectronics by 92.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,830,732 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $97,926,000 after buying an additional 879,856 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in STMicroelectronics in the first quarter worth $46,169,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in STMicroelectronics by 36.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,005,136 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $129,702,000 after buying an additional 805,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 209.4% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 789,204 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $39,453,000 after purchasing an additional 534,160 shares during the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

STM opened at $40.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.17 and a quick ratio of 2.44. The firm has a market cap of $36.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.69. STMicroelectronics has a 1 year low of $37.21 and a 1 year high of $55.85.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor producer reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 27.70% and a net margin of 24.36%. STMicroelectronics’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that STMicroelectronics will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from STMicroelectronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 25th. STMicroelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.48%.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Automotive and Discrete Group; Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group; and Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group segments.