Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a decline of 18.5% from the January 31st total of 1,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 702,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Display

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OLED. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Universal Display by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 6,046 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Universal Display by 8.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 52,713 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,064,000 after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the period. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Universal Display by 217.4% in the third quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 63,260 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,278,000 after purchasing an additional 43,330 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Universal Display by 385.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 6,818 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Universal Display by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 27,246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,983,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390 shares during the last quarter. 78.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OLED has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Universal Display from $207.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Universal Display from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Universal Display from $234.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $200.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Universal Display presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.43.

Universal Display Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of Universal Display stock opened at $145.81 on Tuesday. Universal Display has a 52 week low of $140.17 and a 52 week high of $237.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $148.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.01. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.39.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.14. Universal Display had a return on equity of 15.51% and a net margin of 34.29%. The business had revenue of $162.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.75 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Universal Display will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Universal Display Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Universal Display’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Universal Display’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

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.