Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 31,120,000 shares, an increase of 26.1% from the May 31st total of 24,670,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE TSM traded up $3.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $175.70. 10,589,771 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,043,256. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has a 52-week low of $84.01 and a 52-week high of $184.86. The firm has a market cap of $911.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.13.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The semiconductor company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.38 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 38.15% and a return on equity of 24.75%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be issued a $0.4865 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s payout ratio is 32.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CapWealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 122,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,720,000 after purchasing an additional 21,329 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox purchased a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,396,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 31,079,682 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,232,287,000 after purchasing an additional 442,289 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $553,000. Finally, Credit Capital Investments LLC grew its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Credit Capital Investments LLC now owns 58,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,032,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 16.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSM has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.60.

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others.