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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,510,000 shares, an increase of 5.1% from the September 15th total of 3,340,000 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 538,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.5 days.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $45.18 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.97 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a one year low of $38.20 and a one year high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $181.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.28 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a positive return on equity of 0.61% and a negative net margin of 7.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -67.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLIC shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target 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. Craig Hallum decreased their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 8.1% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 205,299 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,329,000 after purchasing an additional 15,350 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 813.0% during the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 95,606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,810,000 after purchasing an additional 85,134 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 26.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 460,704 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,178,000 after purchasing an additional 97,278 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 8.1% during the first quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 648,357 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,619,000 after purchasing an additional 48,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 15.9% during the first quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 201,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,112,000 after purchasing an additional 27,597 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by 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.