United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $28.66 and last traded at $27.96, with a volume of 24123378 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UMC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $70.39 billion, a PE ratio of 43.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%.The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Research analysts forecast that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.4122 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 144.0%. This is an increase from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Arax Advisory Partners raised its stake in United Microelectronics by 583.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in United Microelectronics by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,817 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,498 shares during the period. 5.05% of the stock is currently 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.