STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Shares Gap Up to $29.48

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $29.48, but opened at $30.52. STMicroelectronics shares last traded at $30.67, with a volume of 707,110 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on STMicroelectronics from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of STMicroelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $35.50 to $45.80 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics from $54.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered STMicroelectronics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.13.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 3.35 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.43 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.58.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 19.68%. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that STMicroelectronics will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. STMicroelectronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,051 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in STMicroelectronics by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 12,970 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,822 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its stake in STMicroelectronics by 4.6% in the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 21,784 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STMicroelectronics Company Profile

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.