Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) hit a new 52‑week low
• The company beat EPS expectations ($1.39 vs. $1.28) while revenue was roughly in line, and analysts show a mixed view — MarketBeat's consensus is a "Hold" with an average price target of $151.67 and individual targets ranging from $130 to $180.
• Universal Display raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 (annualized $2.00, ~2.1% yield), and institutional investors increased positions, leaving about 78.19% of the stock owned by institutions.

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $93.07 and last traded at $93.3290, with a volume of 591959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Universal Display from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Universal Display from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Universal Display in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Universal Display in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.67.

Universal Display Stock Down 4.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.89.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Universal Display had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 37.21%.The business had revenue of $172.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $173.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Universal Display Corporation will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Display Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Universal Display's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Universal Display's payout ratio is 35.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Display

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Universal Display by 10.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Universal Display by 1.9% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 2,258,378 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $324,371,000 after acquiring an additional 43,070 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Universal Display by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,694,779 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $197,916,000 after acquiring an additional 69,163 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Universal Display by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,109,077 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $129,537,000 after purchasing an additional 222,108 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 408,315 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.19% of the company's stock.

Universal Display Company Profile

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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