Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on KLIC. TD Cowen upped their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised 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, November 15th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLIC opened at $46.21 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.01 and its 200 day moving average is $45.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of -37.57 and a beta of 1.37. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a fifty-two week low of $38.20 and a fifty-two week high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The company’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $448,261.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,897.76. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KLIC. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.