Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.33.

A number of research analysts recently commented on OLED shares. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Universal Display from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Universal Display from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Universal Display in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Universal Display from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Universal Display Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OLED opened at $80.37 on Wednesday. Universal Display has a fifty-two week low of $73.23 and a fifty-two week high of $153.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.53.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Universal Display had a net margin of 32.24% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The firm had revenue of $152.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Universal Display’s revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Universal Display will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Display Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Universal Display’s payout ratio is 48.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Display

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Universal Display by 347.8% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 703 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Universal Display in the fourth quarter worth approximately $75,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in Universal Display in the second quarter worth approximately $87,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 45.6% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Universal Display in the first quarter valued at $102,000. Institutional investors own 78.19% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Display

Universal Display Corporation develops and commercializes technologies and materials used in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays and lighting. The company’s portfolio includes phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) technologies, which are designed to improve display efficiency, as well as OLED material systems and related technologies.

Universal Display generates revenue primarily through licensing its OLED intellectual property and selling OLED materials, including phosphorescent emitter materials and related products.