United Microelectronics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:UMC)

United Microelectronics Co. (NYSE:UMC) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 6,819 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 898% compared to the average volume of 683 call options.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UMC opened at $8.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 1.18. United Microelectronics has a 1 year low of $6.71 and a 1 year high of $9.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.13.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The semiconductor company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 23.90%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Microelectronics will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.356 per share. This represents a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 2nd. United Microelectronics’s payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Institutional Trading of United Microelectronics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 3,515 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its position in United Microelectronics by 5.3% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 97,504 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in United Microelectronics by 6.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 55,343 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,331 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $826,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 12.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 301,574 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,641,000 after buying an additional 34,431 shares during the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Japan, 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.