United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $15.90 and last traded at $15.61, with a volume of 13848581 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.60 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.44. The firm has a market cap of $40.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.41.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Analysts expect that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 7.7% in the fourth 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. Xponance LLC boosted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 20,494 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 8.2% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,110 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 10.2% in the third quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 15,710 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 18,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 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.