StockNews.com Lowers STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning.

STM has been the topic of several other research reports. HSBC began coverage on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a buy rating on the stock. William Blair reissued a market perform rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Friday. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on shares of STMicroelectronics from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of STMicroelectronics from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $50.75.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of STM stock opened at $41.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 3.17. STMicroelectronics has a 52 week low of $37.21 and a 52 week high of $55.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.56.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.05). STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 22.30% and a return on equity of 23.52%. The business had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that STMicroelectronics will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

STMicroelectronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 25th. This is a positive change from STMicroelectronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. STMicroelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is 5.13%.

Institutional Trading of STMicroelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STM. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. grew its stake in STMicroelectronics by 548.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 590 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in STMicroelectronics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in STMicroelectronics by 112.7% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 689 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in STMicroelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in STMicroelectronics by 125.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 720 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.