Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Wednesday.

KLIC has been the subject of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Craig Hallum lowered their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ KLIC opened at $49.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of -39.98 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $45.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.39. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following 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 represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,469.48. This trade represents a 14.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,730 shares of company stock worth $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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,361,000 after buying an additional 44,429 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 88,712 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,977,000 after purchasing an additional 19,279 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 48,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 11,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 140,269 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,330,000 after purchasing an additional 52,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.