STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley lowered shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

STM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on shares of STMicroelectronics from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on STMicroelectronics from $54.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.63.

STMicroelectronics Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE STM opened at $26.49 on Monday. STMicroelectronics has a 1 year low of $25.95 and a 1 year high of $51.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.14. The company has a market cap of $23.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. STMicroelectronics’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that STMicroelectronics will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

STMicroelectronics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. STMicroelectronics’s payout ratio is currently 12.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 15.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,465 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital purchased a new position in STMicroelectronics in the third quarter worth $266,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the third quarter worth $1,157,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 64,812 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 22,692 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.