Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on OLED. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Universal Display in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Universal Display from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Universal Display in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Display currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.60.

Universal Display Stock Performance

OLED opened at $120.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.62. Universal Display has a one year low of $103.70 and a one year high of $164.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $118.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.42.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $139.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.56 million. Universal Display had a net margin of 34.65% and a return on equity of 14.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Universal Display will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Display Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Universal Display’s dividend payout ratio is 38.79%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Display

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Universal Display during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Universal Display by 236.7% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 202 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Universal Display by 309.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 209 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Display in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Display during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.19% of the company’s stock.

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.