Short Interest in NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) Increases By 27.7%

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,963,942 shares, a growth of 27.7% from the November 30th total of 6,236,272 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,217,630 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,217,630 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

NXP Semiconductors Price Performance

NXP Semiconductors stock opened at $220.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $55.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.46. NXP Semiconductors has a one year low of $148.09 and a one year high of $255.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $212.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.37.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The semiconductor provider reported $3.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.01). NXP Semiconductors had a return on equity of 26.92% and a net margin of 17.11%.The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. NXP Semiconductors’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that NXP Semiconductors will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NXP Semiconductors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.014 per share. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. NXP Semiconductors’s dividend payout ratio is 50.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on NXPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $220.00 price objective on NXP Semiconductors and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $215.00 price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Arete Research raised their price objective on NXP Semiconductors from $273.90 to $324.40 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher L. Jensen sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.17, for a total transaction of $524,791.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,965 shares in the company, valued at $2,273,714.05. This trade represents a 18.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Wuamett sold 8,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.01, for a total value of $1,733,087.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,969,416.75. The trade was a 30.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NXP Semiconductors

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NXPI. Mirabella Financial Services LLP boosted its stake in NXP Semiconductors by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 5,029 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $1,143,000 after buying an additional 3,062 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in NXP Semiconductors by 45.6% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,197 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 44,163 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock valued at $10,057,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NXP Semiconductors in the third quarter valued at about $13,996,000. Finally, Trust Investment Advisors increased its stake in NXP Semiconductors by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 5,055 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.54% of the company’s stock.

NXP Semiconductors Company Profile

NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, that designs and supplies mixed-signal and standard product solutions for a broad range of end markets. The company focuses on enabling secure connections and infrastructure for embedded applications, developing technologies used across automotive, industrial and Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, and communication infrastructure segments. NXP’s offerings target customers that require reliable, secure, and high-performance semiconductor components for connected devices and systems.

Product lines include microcontrollers and application processors, secure elements and authentication technologies, RF and high-power analog components, connectivity solutions, and vehicle networking and infotainment systems.