United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of United Microelectronics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $7.40 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered United Microelectronics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of United Microelectronics from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.40.

United Microelectronics Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE UMC traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.07. The company had a trading volume of 22,440,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,180,431. The company has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.18. United Microelectronics has a one year low of $6.78 and a one year high of $9.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company's fifty day moving average is $8.20 and its 200-day moving average is $8.26.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.03. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 22.89% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Microelectronics will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of United Microelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UMC. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 102,206 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 90,303 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 9.1% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,351 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 1,609 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in United Microelectronics by 2.5% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 71,459 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,627 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company's stock.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers.

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