United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $19.88, but opened at $20.43. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $20.3250, with a volume of 4,438,058 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Arete Research upgraded United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings raised United Microelectronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Trading Up 2.4%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $21.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.81.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.00%. As a group, analysts expect that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.4122 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This is a positive change from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in United Microelectronics by 271.0% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,369 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

About United Microelectronics

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.