United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $19.03, but opened at $17.69. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $17.9820, with a volume of 2,614,379 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UMC. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Zacks Research upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.14.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 33.18%.The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.4122 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This is a positive change from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. United Microelectronics’s payout ratio is 28.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UMC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the second quarter worth $27,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Microelectronics by 271.0% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,369 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners raised its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 583.7% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 8,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390 shares in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

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.