United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded United Microelectronics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.60 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a market cap of $39.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.32.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced 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 return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%.The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the first quarter valued at $140,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in United Microelectronics by 13.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,849,737 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,591,000 after buying an additional 333,011 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in United Microelectronics by 3.1% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 124,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 3,706 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the first quarter valued at $815,000. Finally, Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC grew its stake in United Microelectronics by 26.1% in the first quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 18,552 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 3,836 shares in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

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.