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

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

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KLIC. StockNews.com downgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson cut their price objective on 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. Needham & Company LLC upgraded 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 note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on 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.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total transaction of $1,443,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 59,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,215.11. The trade was a 33.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 36,329 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,695,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during 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. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC opened at $47.33 on Tuesday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a fifty-two week low of $38.20 and a fifty-two week high of $56.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of -38.48 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.86 and its 200 day moving average is $45.69.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th were paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company Profile

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.