United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Upgraded at Arete Research

Arete Research upgraded shares of United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on UMC. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

UMC opened at $19.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. United Microelectronics has a 12-month low of $6.56 and a 12-month high of $28.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.60.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.00%. On average, analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of United Microelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 164,383 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 792,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,228,000 after acquiring an additional 95,871 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 508.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 169,183 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 141,385 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 46,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in United Microelectronics in the 1st quarter valued at $628,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.