Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $135.34, but opened at $113.94. Universal Display shares last traded at $118.9380, with a volume of 312,755 shares trading hands.

The semiconductor company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.27). Universal Display had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 36.95%.The business had revenue of $139.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.56 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Universal Display has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

Universal Display Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Universal Display’s payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on OLED. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Universal Display from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Universal Display in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Universal Display from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Universal Display has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Display

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal Display by 73.8% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,407,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $614,806,000 after buying an additional 1,871,333 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Universal Display during the second quarter worth about $124,480,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Universal Display by 10.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,069,107 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $728,076,000 after purchasing an additional 460,792 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in Universal Display by 20.7% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 2,215,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $342,176,000 after purchasing an additional 379,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Universal Display in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,147,000. 78.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Display Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.72.

Universal Display Company Profile

Universal Display Corporation engages in the research, development, and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in display and solid-state lighting applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers PHOLED technologies and materials for displays and lighting products under the UniversalPHOLED brand.