United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

UMC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of UMC stock opened at $19.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.75. The stock has a market cap of $48.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. United Microelectronics has a 12 month low of $6.56 and a 12 month high of $28.96.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that United Microelectronics will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.4122 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This is a positive change from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $399,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at $329,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth $76,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth $544,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 7.4% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 12,914 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.