United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $24.92, but opened at $22.73. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $23.0020, with a volume of 3,147,365 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

United Microelectronics Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.15. The company has a market cap of $56.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.72.

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

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a $0.4122 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. This is an increase from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. United Microelectronics’s payout ratio is presently 47.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UMC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the second quarter worth about $27,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in United Microelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Microelectronics by 271.0% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,369 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 583.7% in 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. 5.05% of the stock is owned by 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.