Short Interest in United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) Expands By 66.7%

Key Points

• Short interest surged 66.7% to 34.2 million shares by July 31, representing 1.5% of UMC’s outstanding shares and a days-to-cover ratio of 1.9.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: recent upgrades included Zacks Research and Arete Research, but MarketBeat’s consensus rating is still Hold, with a price target of $8.60.
• UMC reported quarterly revenue of $2.16 billion and EPS of $0.53, while raising its annual dividend to $0.4122 per share from $0.37; institutional ownership stands at 5.05%.

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 34,193,634 shares, a growth of 66.7% from the July 15th total of 20,511,587 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 17,966,337 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in 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 restated an "underperform" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised United Microelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Arete Research upgraded United Microelectronics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised United Microelectronics from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Microelectronics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

NYSE UMC traded up $0.32 on Monday, reaching $19.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,970,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,797,076. United Microelectronics has a twelve month low of $6.56 and a twelve month high of $28.96. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $22.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.84. The stock has a market cap of $49.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.60.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 33.18%.The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Microelectronics will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.4122 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. This is an increase from United Microelectronics's previous annual dividend of $0.37. United Microelectronics's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Microelectronics in the second quarter worth $399,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the second quarter worth $329,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the second quarter worth $76,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in United Microelectronics during the second quarter valued at about $544,000. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

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.

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