STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.67, but opened at $27.72. STMicroelectronics shares last traded at $28.09, with a volume of 3,858,879 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on STM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank lowered STMicroelectronics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded STMicroelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on STMicroelectronics from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded STMicroelectronics from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.97.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $25.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 2.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.10 and a 200 day moving average of $24.26.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.55 billion. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 11.74% and a return on equity of 8.92%. On average, analysts expect that STMicroelectronics will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 24th. STMicroelectronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in STMicroelectronics during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in STMicroelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in STMicroelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,543,000. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in STMicroelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $971,000. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.