Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Silicon Motion Technology Co. (NASDAQ:SIMO) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $47.42 and last traded at $48.28, with a volume of 51674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Silicon Motion Technology in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com cut Silicon Motion Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Silicon Motion Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.63.

Silicon Motion Technology Trading Down 6.7 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.71.

Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.10). Silicon Motion Technology had a return on equity of 11.63% and a net margin of 11.29%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Silicon Motion Technology Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Silicon Motion Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Silicon Motion Technology’s dividend payout ratio is 74.35%.

Silicon Motion Technology announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 5th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor producer to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Silicon Motion Technology

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Silicon Motion Technology by 123.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 877 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Silicon Motion Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $88,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Silicon Motion Technology by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,248 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in Silicon Motion Technology by 519.0% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,033 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 2,543 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Silicon Motion Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Institutional investors own 78.02% of the company’s stock.

About Silicon Motion Technology

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices. The company offers controllers for computing-grade solid state drives (SSDs), which are used in PCs and other client devices; enterprise-grade SSDs used in data centers; eMMC and UFS mobile embedded storage for use in smartphones and IoT devices; flash memory cards and flash drives for use in expandable storage; and specialized SSDs that are used in industrial, commercial, and automotive applications.