Exane BNP Paribas Upgrades United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) to Strong-Buy

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Exane BNP Paribas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America cut shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $8.60 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Microelectronics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

United Microelectronics stock opened at $10.57 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $8.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market cap of $26.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.08. United Microelectronics has a 52 week low of $5.71 and a 52 week high of $12.68.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 17.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that United Microelectronics will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of United Microelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 1,563 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $164,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter worth $5,197,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 66.6% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,441 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 7,769 shares in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

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.