Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Short Interest Update

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,530,000 shares, a decrease of 6.1% from the August 15th total of 3,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 534,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days. Approximately 6.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of KLIC opened at $42.64 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $43.55 and a 200 day moving average of $46.27. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of -35.83 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $181.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.28 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 7.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.61%. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -67.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 657,783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after purchasing an additional 21,687 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 64.3% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,272 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 5,585 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,194 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KLIC. Craig Hallum decreased their price target 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. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.33.

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.