Investors Purchase High Volume of United Microelectronics Call Options (NYSE:UMC)

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 89,622 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 483% compared to the typical volume of 15,360 call options.

United Microelectronics Trading Up 1.1%

UMC stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.00. 3,321,999 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,910,825. United Microelectronics has a 1-year low of $6.56 and a 1-year high of $28.96. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.56.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 33.18%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Microelectronics will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a $0.4122 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This is an increase from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. This represents a yield of 166.0%. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UMC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in United Microelectronics by 3,854.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 168,648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 164,383 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 792,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,228,000 after buying an additional 95,871 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 115.3% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 86,927 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 46,549 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the first quarter valued at $628,000. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the first quarter valued at $8,779,000. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane restated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.60.

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.