STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $33.41, but opened at $31.95. STMicroelectronics shares last traded at $31.49, with a volume of 1,590,615 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Oddo Bhf raised shares of STMicroelectronics to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of STMicroelectronics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $23.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of STMicroelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STMicroelectronics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.17.

STMicroelectronics Stock Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 3.05. The stock has a market cap of $23.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.60. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $29.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.50.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.71 billion. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 6.28%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that STMicroelectronics N.V. will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 24th. STMicroelectronics's payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,682 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 5.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,930 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,069 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 63.1% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,167 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company's stock.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Automotive and Discrete Group; Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group; and Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group segments.