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

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock opened at $203.77 on Monday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has a one year low of $122.91 and a one year high of $226.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 2.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.38.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.08. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 40.51% and a return on equity of 30.47%. Research analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will post 9.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.6855 per share. This is a positive change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,533,207 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $266,300,000 after purchasing an additional 70,057 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 8.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 495,686 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $86,086,000 after buying an additional 37,122 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 3,786 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 41,649 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,233,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSM has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.