Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: SIMO) experienced a notable increase in short interest as of December 31, 2023. The total short interest reached 662,726 shares, marking a substantial rise of 34.9% from the December 15 total of 491,338 shares. With an average daily trading volume of 239,479 shares, the short-interest ratio now stands at 2.8 days, indicating that approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares have been short sold.
On Monday, Silicon Motion Technology’s stock fell by 0.4%, closing at $112.87. During the trading session, 631,372 shares exchanged hands, which is slightly below the average volume of 576,726 shares. Over the past year, the stock has seen a low of $37.21 and a high of $123.30. The company currently holds a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 38.79 and a price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $93.33, while its 200-day moving average price is $87.60.
Dividend Announcement and Analyst Perspectives
In addition to the recent short interest figures, Silicon Motion Technology announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, scheduled for payment on August 20, 2024. Stockholders of record on August 6, 2024, will receive this dividend, representing an annualized payout of $2.00 and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The company’s payout ratio currently stands at 68.38%, reflecting its commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
Analysts have mixed views on Silicon Motion Technology’s stock. On November 24, 2023, Zacks Research downgraded the company’s shares from a “strong-buy” to a “hold” rating. Conversely, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on December 29, 2023. Roth Capital maintained a “buy” rating with a target price of $120.00 on October 31, 2023. Additionally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target from $85.00 to $110.00 with an “overweight” rating on November 3, 2023. B. Riley also increased its price target from $125.00 to $135.00, rating the stock as a “buy” on January 12, 2024. Currently, ten equity research analysts have rated the stock as a buy, while one has issued a hold rating, indicating a consensus average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $113.13, according to MarketBeat.com.
Company Overview
Silicon Motion Technology Corporation specializes in designing, developing, and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices. Its product offerings include controllers for computing-grade solid-state drives (SSDs) used in personal computers and client devices, enterprise-grade SSDs for data centers, and embedded storage solutions like eMMC and UFS for smartphones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The company also produces flash memory cards and drives for expandable storage, as well as specialized SSDs for industrial, commercial, and automotive applications.
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