United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• UMC shares jumped 5.1%, opening at $22.49 versus a prior close of $21.61, amid recent analyst upgrades and increased investor interest.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock carries an overall “Hold” rating, with one Strong Buy, one Buy, one Hold and three Sell ratings; the average price target is reported at $8.60.
• UMC reported quarterly revenue of $2.16 billion and earnings of $0.53 per share, while raising its annual dividend to $0.4122 per share. Institutional investors own approximately 5.05% of the company.

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.61, but opened at $22.49. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $22.6860, with a volume of 1,140,395 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

United Microelectronics Stock Up 5.1%

The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $57.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.31.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 33.18%.The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.4122 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 payout ratio is 28.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth about $9,525,000. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 43.0% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,541 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 10,391 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the second quarter worth approximately $249,000. MW Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the second quarter worth approximately $481,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Microelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company's stock.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation NYSE: UMC is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuits for customers that design and market their own chips. The company provides wafer fabrication services rather than selling semiconductor products under its own consumer brand.

UMC supports a broad range of applications, including communications, automotive systems, industrial equipment, consumer electronics and computing. Its manufacturing portfolio includes logic and mixed-signal technologies, radio-frequency processes, embedded high-voltage solutions, display-driver chips, image sensors and other specialty semiconductor technologies.

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