Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $45.73 and traded as high as $48.89. Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares last traded at $47.51, with a volume of 778,387 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KLIC. StockNews.com raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. 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 report on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson dropped their price target 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.73. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.63 and a beta of 1.37.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.03 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.