Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $47.05, but opened at $48.98. Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares last traded at $48.34, with a volume of 169,653 shares.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a $0.205 dividend. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is currently -65.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KLIC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum decreased their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 1.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -37.55 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.37.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KLIC. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $142,943,000 after buying an additional 128,026 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 133.9% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 156,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,897,000 after buying an additional 89,849 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 1st quarter worth $571,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company Profile

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells capital equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices. It operates through four segments: Ball Bonding Equipment, Wedge Bonding Equipment, Advanced Solutions, and Aftermarket Products and Services (APS). The company offers ball bonding equipment, wafer level bonding equipment, wedge bonding equipment; and advanced display, die-attach, and thermocompression systems and solutions, as well as tools, spares and services for equipment.