Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED)

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $215.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Universal Display from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Universal Display from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.86.

Universal Display Price Performance

Universal Display stock opened at $149.24 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $157.11 and a 200-day moving average of $186.06. The company has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40. Universal Display has a one year low of $143.25 and a one year high of $237.00.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. Universal Display had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 36.98%. The firm had revenue of $161.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.28 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Universal Display will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Display Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Universal Display’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.13%.

Insider Transactions at Universal Display

In other Universal Display news, Director Lawrence Lacerte purchased 742 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $180.89 per share, with a total value of $134,220.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 122,372 shares in the company, valued at $22,135,871.08. The trade was a 0.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Universal Display by 1.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 6,046 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Universal Display by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 52,713 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,064,000 after buying an additional 4,269 shares during the period. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 217.4% during the 3rd quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 63,260 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,278,000 after acquiring an additional 43,330 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Display by 385.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 6,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Universal Display by 117.2% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,762 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,945,000 after acquiring an additional 10,122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.19% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Display

Universal Display Corporation engages in the research, development, and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in display and solid-state lighting applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers PHOLED technologies and materials for displays and lighting products under the UniversalPHOLED brand.