Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.50 Per Share

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the semiconductor company on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a 11.1% increase from Universal Display’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Universal Display has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 8 consecutive years. Universal Display has a payout ratio of 31.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Universal Display to earn $5.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.3%.

Universal Display Trading Down 8.3%

OLED stock traded down $9.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.36. 670,213 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 764,914. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.63. Universal Display has a 1-year low of $103.70 and a 1-year high of $164.29.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Universal Display had a net margin of 34.65% and a return on equity of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $172.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Universal Display will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Universal Display

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OLED. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Display during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Universal Display by 309.8% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 209 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Universal Display by 236.7% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 202 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Display in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Universal Display in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 78.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Universal Display

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: OLED) is a technology company specializing in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) solutions. The company develops and commercializes materials, technologies and software used in the creation of OLED displays and lighting. Its offerings include proprietary phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) materials, display driver integrated circuits and process technologies that enable higher efficiency, longer lifetimes and improved color performance for a range of display and lighting applications.

Universal Display’s core business is licensing its extensive OLED patent portfolio to display manufacturers and providing them with the key organic materials needed for device fabrication.