Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. $BHE

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 21.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 207,365 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,316 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Benchmark Electronics were worth $11,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,906,748 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $124,293,000 after acquiring an additional 218,450 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $645,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,193,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 68,841 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,944,000 after purchasing an additional 34,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connable Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $393,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

Benchmark Electronics Price Performance

NYSE BHE opened at $81.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 85.47 and a beta of 1.24. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.44 and a 52 week high of $100.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.94.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 1.27% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The firm had revenue of $677.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $676.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Benchmark Electronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.650-0.710 EPS.

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kenneth T. Lamneck sold 24,263 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.49, for a total value of $1,977,191.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 47,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,864,092.82. The trade was a 33.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.14, for a total transaction of $561,924.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 36,067 shares in the company, valued at $3,070,744.38. The trade was a 15.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 86,352 shares of company stock worth $7,312,806 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BHE. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $62.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Benchmark Electronics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Benchmark Electronics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Benchmark Electronics Company Profile

Benchmark Electronics, Inc is a global provider of comprehensive electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and integrated engineering solutions. The company offers a full suite of services that span the entire product lifecycle, from early?stage design and prototyping to high?volume production and aftermarket support. Benchmark serves diverse end markets, including industrial automation, medical devices, communications, aerospace and defense, and semiconductor equipment.

At the core of Benchmark’s offering are printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA), system integration, box build assemblies and turnkey manufacturing.