United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Exane BNP Paribas

Exane BNP Paribas upgraded shares of United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on UMC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $8.60 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Microelectronics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

UMC opened at $10.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. United Microelectronics has a 12-month low of $5.71 and a 12-month high of $12.68.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 11.59%. The company had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UMC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 1,794.6% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 62,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 59,349 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in United Microelectronics by 10.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 537,777 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 29,408 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 6,028 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth $103,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the second quarter worth $139,000. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.