Needham & Company LLC Upgrades Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) to “Buy”

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $55.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Craig Hallum cut their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 0.3 %

KLIC stock opened at $46.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of -37.55 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12-month low of $38.20 and a 12-month high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results 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). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The firm had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is -65.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the first quarter worth $29,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $142,943,000 after purchasing an additional 128,026 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 133.9% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 156,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,897,000 after purchasing an additional 89,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the first quarter worth about $571,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.