Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

SIMO has been the subject of several other reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Silicon Motion Technology in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on shares of Silicon Motion Technology from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Silicon Motion Technology from $94.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Silicon Motion Technology from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Silicon Motion Technology from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Silicon Motion Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.67.

Silicon Motion Technology Stock Up 3.9 %

NASDAQ SIMO opened at $56.62 on Wednesday. Silicon Motion Technology has a fifty-two week low of $48.81 and a fifty-two week high of $85.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.65. The stock has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.79.

Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.10). Silicon Motion Technology had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 10.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Silicon Motion Technology will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Silicon Motion Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. Silicon Motion Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.38%.

Silicon Motion Technology declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 5th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor producer to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Silicon Motion Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 129.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 445 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 123.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 877 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 139.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,365 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of Silicon Motion Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at $151,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in Silicon Motion Technology in the 2nd quarter worth about $236,000. 78.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Silicon Motion Technology

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices. The company offers controllers for computing-grade solid state drives (SSDs), which are used in PCs and other client devices; enterprise-grade SSDs used in data centers; eMMC and UFS mobile embedded storage for use in smartphones and IoT devices; flash memory cards and flash drives for use in expandable storage; and specialized SSDs that are used in industrial, commercial, and automotive applications.