United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) Given Average Recommendation of "Strong Sell" by Brokerages

Key Points

• United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) has a consensus analyst rating of "Strong Sell", with three sell ratings and one hold rating among the four brokerages covering the stock. The average 12-month price target from updated analysts is $8.60.
• The stock recently rose 6.4% to $25.36, while the company reported a market cap of $63.84 billion and a P/E ratio of 39.06. Its shares have traded between $6.56 and $28.96 over the past 52 weeks.
• United Microelectronics beat expectations on its latest quarterly earnings, posting $0.20 EPS versus the $0.12 estimate, and it also raised its annual dividend to $0.4122 per share from $0.37. The dividend is payable on August 6 to shareholders of record on July 8.

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" by the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and one has given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.60.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UMC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Microelectronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated an "underperform" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UMC. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 12,914 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 271.0% during the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,369 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in United Microelectronics by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 129,895 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,472 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance LLC raised its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 20,494 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company's stock.

United Microelectronics Stock Up 6.4%

Shares of United Microelectronics stock traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.36. 1,835,320 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,528,494. United Microelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $6.56 and a fifty-two week high of $28.96. The stock has a market cap of $63.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.04.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Microelectronics will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.4122 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This is an increase from United Microelectronics's previous annual dividend of $0.37. This represents a yield of 166.0%. United Microelectronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.23%.

About United Microelectronics

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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