United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.34 and last traded at $9.2750, with a volume of 3073653 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Bank of America cut United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

United Microelectronics Stock Up 5.5%

The firm has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.43.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.25 billion. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 17.08%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UMC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the second quarter worth $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 313.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,265 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $80,000. Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.