NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• NXP Semiconductors hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $306.95 after a recent jump of about 5.2%. The stock has also moved well above its 50-day and 200-day averages.
• Recent analyst sentiment has been mostly positive, with multiple firms raising price targets and maintaining Buy/Outperform-type ratings. The consensus rating remains Moderate Buy, with an average target price of $294.25.
• The company posted better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $3.05 versus $2.98 expected and revenue of $3.18 billion, up 12.2% year over year. It also pays a quarterly dividend that equates to a 1.3% yield.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $306.95 and last traded at $307.9820, with a volume of 1347089 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $294.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NXPI. Evercore raised their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on NXP Semiconductors from $299.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on NXP Semiconductors from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised NXP Semiconductors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.25.

NXP Semiconductors Stock Up 5.2%

The stock has a market cap of $78.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $228.39 and its 200 day moving average is $224.31.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by $0.07. NXP Semiconductors had a net margin of 21.03% and a return on equity of 26.75%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NXP Semiconductors N.V. will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

NXP Semiconductors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $1.014 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. NXP Semiconductors's payout ratio is 38.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew Hardy sold 5,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $1,242,915.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,700. The trade was a 72.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher L. Jensen sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.03, for a total transaction of $1,070,921.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,261,187.67. The trade was a 45.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,865 shares of company stock valued at $2,508,416. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXPI. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in NXP Semiconductors by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 13,870 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock valued at $3,011,000 after buying an additional 5,359 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 104,850 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock worth $23,877,000 after acquiring an additional 22,631 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in NXP Semiconductors by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 45,366 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock worth $9,847,000 after acquiring an additional 6,379 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 21.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,227,516 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock worth $507,241,000 after purchasing an additional 398,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in NXP Semiconductors by 293.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 38,543 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock valued at $8,777,000 after acquiring an additional 28,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.54% of the company's stock.

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, that designs and supplies mixed-signal and standard product solutions for a broad range of end markets. The company focuses on enabling secure connections and infrastructure for embedded applications, developing technologies used across automotive, industrial and Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, and communication infrastructure segments. NXP's offerings target customers that require reliable, secure, and high-performance semiconductor components for connected devices and systems.

Product lines include microcontrollers and application processors, secure elements and authentication technologies, RF and high-power analog components, connectivity solutions, and vehicle networking and infotainment systems.

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