Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of KLIC stock opened at $46.50 on Monday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52 week low of $38.20 and a 52 week high of $56.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of -37.80 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.73.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total value of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,897.76. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total value of $3,863,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,100,765 shares in the company, valued at $53,155,941.85. The trade was a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying 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 third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.