ASML’s (ASML) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at UBS Group

UBS Group reissued their buy rating on shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) in a report released on Thursday morning,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of ASML from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Friday, October 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Morningstar cut ASML to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on ASML from $965.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,171.83.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $1,080.85 on Thursday. ASML has a twelve month low of $578.51 and a twelve month high of $1,141.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,039.93 and its 200-day moving average is $876.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $425.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.99, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.87.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 27.08% and a return on equity of 47.74%. The business had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.28 EPS. ASML’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that ASML will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were issued a $1.857 dividend. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $7.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of ASML by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,919,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,791,982,000 after purchasing an additional 577,448 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter worth about $360,262,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in ASML during the third quarter valued at about $505,510,000. Regents of The University of California purchased a new stake in ASML during the third quarter worth about $413,335,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in ASML by 24.9% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,861,445,000 after acquiring an additional 385,502 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Company Profile

ASML Holding N.V. develops, produces, markets, sells, and services advanced semiconductor equipment systems for chipmakers. It offers advanced semiconductor equipment systems, including lithography, metrology, and inspection systems. The company also provides extreme ultraviolet lithography systems; and deep ultraviolet lithography systems comprising immersion and dry lithography solutions to manufacture various range of semiconductor nodes and technologies.