Universal Electronics (NASDAQ:UEIC) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Universal Electronics (NASDAQ:UEIC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Universal Electronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Universal Electronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $11.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Universal Electronics Price Performance

NASDAQ UEIC opened at $10.18 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $11.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.02. Universal Electronics has a 1 year low of $7.53 and a 1 year high of $14.20. The company has a market cap of $132.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.97, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.20.

Universal Electronics (NASDAQ:UEIC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.16). Universal Electronics had a negative net margin of 6.96% and a negative return on equity of 8.61%. The firm had revenue of $102.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.50) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Universal Electronics will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Electronics

In other news, CEO Paul D. Arling sold 13,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $154,660.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,615 shares in the company, valued at $3,326,803.95. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Edward K. Zinser sold 2,500 shares of Universal Electronics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.68, for a total value of $26,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,502.16. This represents a 6.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Electronics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Electronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $163,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Universal Electronics by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,823 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Universal Electronics by 33.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,943 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 5,512 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in Universal Electronics during the second quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Universal Electronics by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,980 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.35% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Electronics

Universal Electronics Inc designs, develops, manufactures, ships, and supports control and sensor technology solutions in the United States, the People’s Republic of China, rest of Asia, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company offers voice-enabled automatically-programmed universal two-way radio frequency, as well as infrared remote controls to video service providers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), retailers, and private label customers; wall-mount and handheld thermostat controllers and connected accessories for smart energy management systems to OEM customers, hotels, hospitality, and system integrators; proprietary and standards-based RF sensors for residential security, safety, and home automation applications; and integrated circuits on which its software and universal device control database is embedded to OEMs, video service providers, and private label customers.