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

Shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $17.75 and last traded at $17.4530, with a volume of 1796963 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on UMC shares. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.60 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a market cap of $43.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.57.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 313.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,265 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners increased its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 583.7% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 8,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.