United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $19.03, but opened at $17.69. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $17.9820, with a volume of 2,614,379 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

United Microelectronics Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.29. The company has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.60.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business 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, research analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.4122 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This is a boost from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. United Microelectronics’s payout ratio is presently 29.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UMC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new position in United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 271.0% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,369 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners boosted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 583.7% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 8,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 7,390 shares during the last quarter. 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.