STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Trading Up 5.9% – Should You Buy?

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) was up 5.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.06 and last traded at $28.04. Approximately 12,665,903 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 80% from the average daily volume of 7,024,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna cut their price target on STMicroelectronics from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Craig Hallum lowered their target price on shares of STMicroelectronics from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen cut STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut STMicroelectronics from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.26.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 3.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.85.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 11.74% and a return on equity of 8.92%. Research analysts forecast that STMicroelectronics will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. STMicroelectronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.67%.

Institutional Trading of STMicroelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STM. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in STMicroelectronics by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 292,924 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $7,314,000 after acquiring an additional 30,413 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in STMicroelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,108,000. GTS Securities LLC increased its position in STMicroelectronics by 213.2% in the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 36,276 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 68,320 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 15,156 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 2,263 shares during the period. Finally, Novem Group purchased a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $492,000. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Automotive and Discrete Group; Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group; and Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group segments.