Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (TSM)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A+ . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance, expanding profit margins and good cash flow from operations. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook.

• ACTIVE STOCK TRADERS: Get trading ideas for stocks under $10 for less than $6/week. Start with a 14-Day Free Trial.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 4.7%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 8.9%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, improving the earnings per share.
• TSM's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.11 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. Along with the favorable debt-to-equity ratio, the company maintains an adequate quick ratio of 1.15, which illustrates the ability to avoid short-term cash problems.
• Investors have apparently begun to recognize positive factors similar to those we have mentioned in this report, including earnings growth. This has helped drive up the company's shares by a sharp 26.16% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, TSM should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year.
• The gross profit margin for TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MFG CO is currently very high, coming in at 74.10%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 32.70% significantly outperformed against the industry average.
• Net operating cash flow has slightly increased to $2,328.60 million or 4.36% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MFG CO has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -78.88%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited engages in the computer-aided designing, manufacturing, packaging, testing, and selling integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices; and manufacturing masks. Taiwan Semiconductor has a market cap of $78.54 billion and is part of the technology sector and electronics industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 17.6, equal to the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 17.4% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full Taiwan Semiconductor Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

FREE from Real Money's Jim Cramer: Winners and Losers Election 2012 - Steps to take NOW so you can profit no matter who is in charge! Free Download Now

For more information on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd click any of the following:

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Stock Price

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Analyst Ratings

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Key Stats & Profile

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Earnings

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Ratio Comparison

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Growth Rates

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Balance Sheet

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Cash Flow

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Income Statement