STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Equal Weight” Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on STM. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lowered shares of STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $25.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays downgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on STMicroelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded STMicroelectronics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STMicroelectronics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.26.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

NYSE:STM opened at $24.46 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.00. The stock has a market cap of $22.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 3.11. STMicroelectronics has a one year low of $21.36 and a one year high of $49.05.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 11.74% and a return on equity of 8.92%. Equities research analysts expect that STMicroelectronics will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. STMicroelectronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in STMicroelectronics in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,183 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in STMicroelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.