Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $199.86.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Universal Display from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $161.00) on shares of Universal Display in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 target price on shares of Universal Display in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $210.00) on shares of Universal Display in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Universal Display from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st.

Universal Display Stock Performance

Shares of Universal Display stock opened at $151.97 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $169.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.45. Universal Display has a 52 week low of $125.98 and a 52 week high of $194.84.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.11. Universal Display had a return on equity of 14.85% and a net margin of 35.22%. The business had revenue of $158.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Universal Display will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Display Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. This is an increase from Universal Display’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Universal Display’s dividend payout ratio is 37.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Display

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Universal Display by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,511,145 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $708,205,000 after purchasing an additional 23,944 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Universal Display by 2.8% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,309,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $719,455,000 after buying an additional 117,055 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Universal Display by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,521,726 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $219,326,000 after buying an additional 18,071 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Universal Display by 7.1% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,435,162 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $206,850,000 after acquiring an additional 94,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Universal Display by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,398,961 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $219,623,000 after acquiring an additional 134,000 shares in the last quarter. 78.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Universal Display

Universal Display Corporation engages in the research, development, and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in display and solid-state lighting applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers PHOLED technologies and materials for displays and lighting products under the UniversalPHOLED brand.