United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $20.47, but opened at $19.54. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $19.7810, with a volume of 1,300,534 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on UMC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.67. The company has a market capitalization of $49.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.59.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.00%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.4122 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This is an increase 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 28.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UMC. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in United Microelectronics by 873.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,464,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $74,389,000 after acquiring an additional 8,492,466 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in United Microelectronics by 832.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,530,564 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,151,936 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in United Microelectronics by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $64,283,000 after buying an additional 2,826,486 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $21,235,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 2,011.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,980,820 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,996 shares in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.