United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $20.87, but opened at $19.84. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $19.4410, with a volume of 1,301,778 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UMC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. BNP Paribas Exane restated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Down 7.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $22.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.72. The firm has a market cap of $48.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.52, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.58.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%.The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.4122 dividend. This is a boost from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UMC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in United Microelectronics by 873.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,464,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $74,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,492,466 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in United Microelectronics by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $64,283,000 after buying an additional 2,826,486 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in United Microelectronics by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,388,868 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $56,008,000 after buying an additional 344,416 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,655,721 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $40,438,000 after acquiring an additional 537,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,511,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $43,323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435,780 shares during the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is 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.