AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 452,788 Shares of United Microelectronics Corporation $UMC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Microelectronics Corporation by 46.1%, owning approximately 1,435,628 shares worth about $10.27 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Despite the increased interest from AQR and other institutional investors, Goldman Sachs issued a "sell" rating for United Microelectronics, reflecting a mixed outlook with a current consensus rating of "Hold".
• United Microelectronics reported $0.12 EPS for its latest quarter, which was below analysts' expectations of $0.14, indicating ongoing challenges in meeting market forecasts.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Free Report) by 46.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,435,628 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 452,788 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of United Microelectronics worth $10,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,538 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 24,035 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the first quarter worth $166,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in United Microelectronics by 93.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 36,973 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 17,816 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 360.1% in the first quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,536,660 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $10,987,000 after buying an additional 1,202,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 127.7% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 541,176 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,869,000 after buying an additional 303,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.40.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

UMC remained flat at $6.85 during midday trading on Tuesday. 3,098,132 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,774,771. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company's 50 day moving average is $6.98 and its 200-day moving average is $7.16. The company has a market cap of $17.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.06. United Microelectronics Corporation has a 1 year low of $5.61 and a 1 year high of $8.86.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.88 billion. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 11.05% and a net margin of 16.71%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Profile

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers.