United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

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Shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.40.

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Friday, May 23rd.

United Microelectronics Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of United Microelectronics stock traded up $0.0150 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.7550. 8,352,334 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,508,885. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. United Microelectronics has a 1-year low of $5.61 and a 1-year high of $8.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $7.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.02). United Microelectronics had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 11.05%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Microelectronics will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $0.3661 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a dividend yield of 460.0%. This is an increase from United Microelectronics's previous annual dividend of $0.36. United Microelectronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UMC. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 3,091.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 14,329,393 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $92,998,000 after purchasing an additional 13,880,446 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at $24,024,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in United Microelectronics by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $64,283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826,486 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in United Microelectronics by 238.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,184,444 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $20,667,000 after buying an additional 2,244,574 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its position in United Microelectronics by 360.1% during the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,536,660 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $10,987,000 after buying an additional 1,202,660 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company's stock.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers.