United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $18.34, but opened at $19.50. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $18.83, with a volume of 1,954,037 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on UMC shares. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings raised United Microelectronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Arete Research raised United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Microelectronics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Up 3.2%

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $47.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.60.

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

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.4122 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This is an increase from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United Microelectronics by 873.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,464,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $74,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,492,466 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 50.7% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $64,283,000 after buying an additional 2,826,486 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 4.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,388,868 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $56,008,000 after buying an additional 344,416 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,655,721 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $40,438,000 after buying an additional 537,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,511,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,323,000 after buying an additional 1,435,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

About United Microelectronics

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.