Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.40.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KLIC shares. Craig Hallum cut their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total transaction of $2,782,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,692,721.32. This trade represents a 42.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $448,261.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This trade represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,730 shares of company stock valued at $4,657,261 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 17,075.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the second quarter valued at about $73,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 1.5 %

Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $49.17 on Monday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12 month low of $38.20 and a 12 month high of $56.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.98 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.36.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The firm had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -65.04%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.