United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $18.34, but opened at $19.50. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $18.83, with a volume of 1,954,037 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $47.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.60. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.06.

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

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.4122 per share. This represents a yield of 166.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This is a boost from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. United Microelectronics’s payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UMC. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 7.4% during the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 12,914 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in United Microelectronics by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 129,895 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in United Microelectronics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,472 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.