United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $20.87, but opened at $19.84. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $19.4410, with a volume of 1,301,778 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UMC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Microelectronics has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Down 6.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $48.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.75.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%.The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Equities research analysts predict that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.4122 dividend. This is an increase from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a yield of 166.0%. United Microelectronics’s payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UMC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 873.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,464,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $74,389,000 after buying an additional 8,492,466 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 832.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,530,564 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,762,000 after buying an additional 3,151,936 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 50.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $64,283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826,486 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $21,235,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 2,011.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,980,820 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,996 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.