Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) Earns “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $175.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on OLED. StockNews.com started coverage on Universal Display in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on Universal Display from $150.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Universal Display from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Universal Display from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Display presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $167.22.

Universal Display Trading Down 1.7 %

Universal Display stock opened at $157.89 on Wednesday. Universal Display has a twelve month low of $89.41 and a twelve month high of $166.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $151.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.29.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.29. Universal Display had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $146.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Universal Display will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Display Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Universal Display’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.18%.

Insider Transactions at Universal Display

In other Universal Display news, Director Richard C. Elias sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.68, for a total transaction of $315,360.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $909,340.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Mauro Premutico sold 9,351 shares of Universal Display stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.17, for a total transaction of $1,507,100.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,220 shares in the company, valued at $5,354,067.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard C. Elias sold 2,000 shares of Universal Display stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.68, for a total transaction of $315,360.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $909,340.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Display

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 2.8% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,309,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $719,455,000 after buying an additional 117,055 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 6.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,266,391 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $712,274,000 after buying an additional 241,855 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,521,726 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $219,326,000 after buying an additional 18,071 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 7.1% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,435,162 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $206,850,000 after buying an additional 94,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Universal Display by 20.6% in the first quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 1,103,950 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $171,256,000 after acquiring an additional 188,430 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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. The company offers PHOLED technologies and materials for displays and lighting products under the UniversalPHOLED brand.