Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on SIMO. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Silicon Motion Technology in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Silicon Motion Technology from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Craig Hallum reduced their price target on shares of Silicon Motion Technology from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Silicon Motion Technology from $94.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Silicon Motion Technology from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.11.

Silicon Motion Technology Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SIMO traded down $2.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $52.80. 579,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 408,092. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.79. Silicon Motion Technology has a 1 year low of $48.81 and a 1 year high of $85.87.

Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.10). Silicon Motion Technology had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 11.29%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Silicon Motion Technology will post 2.91 EPS for the current year.

Silicon Motion Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. Silicon Motion Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.98%.

Silicon Motion Technology announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 5th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor producer to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Silicon Motion Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SIMO. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Silicon Motion Technology in the 3rd quarter worth $1,826,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Silicon Motion Technology by 21.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 200,016 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $12,149,000 after acquiring an additional 35,741 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Silicon Motion Technology by 95.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 128,299 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 62,733 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Silicon Motion Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $431,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,239,574 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $136,032,000 after purchasing an additional 485,862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.02% of the company's stock.

Silicon Motion Technology Company Profile

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices. The company offers controllers for computing-grade solid state drives (SSDs), which are used in PCs and other client devices; enterprise-grade SSDs used in data centers; eMMC and UFS mobile embedded storage for use in smartphones and IoT devices; flash memory cards and flash drives for use in expandable storage; and specialized SSDs that are used in industrial, commercial, and automotive applications.