Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Declares $0.21 Quarterly Dividend

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 6th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.205 per share by the semiconductor company on Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.9% per year over the last three years. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a payout ratio of 36.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Kulicke and Soffa Industries to earn $1.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.82 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.4%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of KLIC opened at $36.81 on Thursday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12 month low of $35.76 and a 12 month high of $53.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.72. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 307.42 and a beta of 1.36.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 0.48%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total transaction of $1,443,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 59,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,215.11. This trade represents a 33.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total value of $564,082.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,897.76. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on KLIC shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.00.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.