US Bancorp DE Raises Holdings in United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in United Microelectronics Corporation by 114%, holding 262,000 shares worth approximately $1.87 million.
• United Microelectronics recently paid a dividend of $0.3661 per share, representing a 460% dividend yield, an increase from the previous year's annual dividend.
• Despite missing quarterly earnings estimates with $0.12 EPS, analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for the stock, with an average target price of $7.40.

US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Free Report) by 114.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 262,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 139,592 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in United Microelectronics were worth $1,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UMC. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in United Microelectronics by 134.8% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,980 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,859 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 262.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,108 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 8,772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company's stock.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

UMC stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $6.74. 6,532,159 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,348,779. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $7.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.05. The firm has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.01. United Microelectronics Corporation has a 1-year low of $5.61 and a 1-year high of $8.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.02). The business 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 EPS. On average, analysts expect that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were given a $0.3661 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 460.0%. This is a positive change from United Microelectronics's previous annual dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. United Microelectronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UMC shares. Wedbush cut shares of United Microelectronics from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.40.

About United Microelectronics

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.