Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 36,350,000 shares, a growth of 14.8% from the January 15th total of 31,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 14,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,052,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares during the period. McHugh Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $605,000. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 113,205 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $22,357,000 after buying an additional 2,368 shares during the last quarter. Private Client Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 40,275 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,954,000 after buying an additional 2,604 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.51% of the company’s stock.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TSM traded up $1.94 during trading on Monday, hitting $203.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 23,189,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,992,380. The company has a 50-day moving average of $205.26 and a 200-day moving average of $189.38. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has a 12 month low of $122.91 and a 12 month high of $226.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 2.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.06.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.08. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 40.51% and a return on equity of 30.47%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.6855 per share. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Profile

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others.