Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) Earns a 'Moderate Buy' Rating from Analysts

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) has recently been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by five brokerage firms actively monitoring its performance, according to Marketbeat Ratings. Among these, one analyst has suggested holding the stock, while four analysts have provided buy recommendations. They have set an average target price of $220.00 for the stock over the next twelve months.

In the past few weeks, several analysts shared their insights regarding Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's stock. Notably, Needham & Company LLC maintained a "buy" rating, projecting a price target of $225.00 in a research update released on February 18. Conversely, StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating on January 28. Additionally, Barclays raised its price target from $240.00 to $255.00, rating the company as "overweight" in a report published on January 17.

Institutional Investors Take Notice

Recently, institutional investors have adjusted their holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake amounting to $425,000 during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings by 11.6%, bringing its total to 13,315 shares, valued at $2,313,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC also entered a new position valued at approximately $77,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised their stake in the company by 3.5%, now owning 8,888 shares worth $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares. Keystone Financial Services has also expanded its holdings by 11.6% during the same period. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds own about 16.51% of the company's stock.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's Stock Performance

The shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing traded slightly higher, up 0.4%, on Wednesday, opening at $171.30. The company has a market capitalization of approximately $888.45 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 24.33 and a beta of 1.13. Over the past year, the stock has seen a low of $125.78 and a high of $226.40. Additionally, the firm has a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 2.57, reflecting its financial health.

On January 16, the company released its earnings report, showing earnings per share (EPS) of $2.24, surpassing the analysts' consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.08. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing achieved a net margin of 40.51% and a return on equity of 30.47%. Analysts project an average EPS of 9.2 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Increase Announced

Recently, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, which is set to be paid on July 10. Shareholders recorded by June 12 will receive a dividend of $0.6855 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $2.74 and a yield of 1.60%. This marks an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The company's current dividend payout ratio stands at 30.68%.

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, along with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, packaging, testing, and sale of integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices. Their operations span across Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and globally. They offer various wafer fabrication processes for manufacturing complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technologies, mixed-signal components, radio frequency devices, and embedded memory, among others.

Taiwan, Semiconductor, Manufacturing