Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) Increases Dividend to $0.50 Per Share

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the semiconductor company on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a 11.1% increase from Universal Display’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Universal Display has increased its dividend by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 8 consecutive years. Universal Display has a dividend payout ratio of 31.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Universal Display to earn $5.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.3%.

Universal Display Trading Down 10.1%

Universal Display stock traded down $11.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $105.28. 910,654 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 773,528. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.71. Universal Display has a 12-month low of $103.70 and a 12-month high of $164.29.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Universal Display had a net margin of 34.65% and a return on equity of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $172.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Universal Display will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OLED has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Universal Display from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Universal Display in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Universal Display from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Universal Display from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Universal Display in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Display currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.75.

About Universal Display

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: OLED) is a technology company specializing in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) solutions. The company develops and commercializes materials, technologies and software used in the creation of OLED displays and lighting. Its offerings include proprietary phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) materials, display driver integrated circuits and process technologies that enable higher efficiency, longer lifetimes and improved color performance for a range of display and lighting applications.

Universal Display’s core business is licensing its extensive OLED patent portfolio to display manufacturers and providing them with the key organic materials needed for device fabrication.