Short Interest in United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) Grows By 2,132.8%

Key Points

• Short interest in United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) surged by 2,132.8% in July, with total short interest reaching 56,490,000 shares as of July 15th.
• The company recently declared an annual dividend of $0.3661 per share, reflecting a positive increase from a previous dividend of $0.36.
• UMC's stock price decreased by 0.4%, closing at $6.82, while analysts have rated the stock mostly as a "Hold" with a consensus price target of $7.40.

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 56,490,000 shares, agrowthof2,132.8% from the June 30th total of 2,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 8,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.4 days.

Institutional Trading of United Microelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $242,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,513 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,362,000 after buying an additional 214,783 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Microelectronics during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 262.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,108 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 8,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 238.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,184,444 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $20,667,000 after buying an additional 2,244,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on UMC. Wedbush downgraded United Microelectronics from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.40.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UMC traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $6.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,821,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,842,980. United Microelectronics has a one year low of $5.61 and a one year high of $8.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $7.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.03.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.02). United Microelectronics had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 11.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that United Microelectronics will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

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

United Microelectronics Company Profile

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.