Bank of America Downgrades STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) to Neutral

Bank of America downgraded shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Craig Hallum dropped their price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut shares of STMicroelectronics from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of STMicroelectronics from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of STMicroelectronics in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded STMicroelectronics from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.26.

STMicroelectronics Stock Up 0.3 %

STM stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $22.54. 4,345,932 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,979,425. STMicroelectronics has a 1-year low of $21.36 and a 1-year high of $49.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 3.11. The company has a market cap of $20.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.51. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $24.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.30.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 11.74%. On average, equities analysts forecast that STMicroelectronics will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. STMicroelectronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.67%.

Institutional Trading of STMicroelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STM. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in STMicroelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics during the third quarter worth $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,183 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company's stock.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Automotive and Discrete Group; Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group; and Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group segments.