Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) Sets New 1-Year Low After Earnings Miss

Key Points

• Universal Display hit a new 52-week low after reporting an earnings miss — EPS was $0.76 versus a $1.13 consensus and revenue was $142.21 million versus an expected $161.35 million, sending the stock as low as $85.22 intraday.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 (a $2.00 annualized payout and a 2.3% yield) with a dividend payout ratio of about 39.5%.
• Analyst coverage is mixed: Citigroup cut its price target to $105 and Zacks downgraded to a “strong sell,” while MarketBeat data shows an overall consensus rating of Hold and an average target of $141.25.

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $85.22 and last traded at $85.9130, with a volume of 979933 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $89.63.

The semiconductor company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.37). Universal Display had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 37.21%.The business had revenue of $142.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.35 million.

Universal Display Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Universal Display's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Universal Display's dividend payout ratio is 39.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on OLED. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Universal Display in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Universal Display from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Universal Display from $130.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Universal Display from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $135.00 price target on Universal Display in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Universal Display presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.25.

Institutional Trading of Universal Display

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OLED. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Universal Display during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,756,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Display by 10.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,069,107 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $728,076,000 after buying an additional 460,792 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Universal Display by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 880,678 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $102,846,000 after buying an additional 408,315 shares during the last quarter. Analog Century Management LP purchased a new stake in Universal Display during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,914,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Universal Display by 100.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 646,787 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $75,532,000 after buying an additional 324,677 shares during the last quarter. 78.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Display Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 1.65.

About Universal Display

Universal Display Corporation NASDAQ: OLED is a technology company specializing in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) solutions. The company develops and commercializes materials, technologies and software used in the creation of OLED displays and lighting. Its offerings include proprietary phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) materials, display driver integrated circuits and process technologies that enable higher efficiency, longer lifetimes and improved color performance for a range of display and lighting applications.

Universal Display's core business is licensing its extensive OLED patent portfolio to display manufacturers and providing them with the key organic materials needed for device fabrication.

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