Universal Display’s (OLED) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Universal Display from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal Display presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.86.

Universal Display Price Performance

Universal Display stock opened at $149.24 on Thursday. Universal Display has a one year low of $143.25 and a one year high of $237.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $157.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.06. The company has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Universal Display Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Universal Display news, Director Lawrence Lacerte acquired 742 shares of Universal Display stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $180.89 per share, with a total value of $134,220.38. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Display

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OLED. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Universal Display by 60.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Universal Display by 42.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 324 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Universal Display by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 6,046 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Universal Display by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 2,576 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Universal Display by 2.8% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,272 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 78.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Display Company Profile

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.