United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $14.22 and last traded at $14.02, with a volume of 23317370 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UMC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of United Microelectronics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.60 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $10.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.10. The stock has a market cap of $35.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in United Microelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,097,000. North of South Capital LLP purchased a new position in United Microelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $948,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in United Microelectronics by 3,854.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 168,648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 164,383 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in United Microelectronics by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 792,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,228,000 after acquiring an additional 95,871 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in United Microelectronics by 102.7% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 541,044 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,101,000 after acquiring an additional 274,157 shares during the period. 5.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.