Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $29.53 and last traded at $29.55, with a volume of 927727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLIC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 246.25 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.89.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 0.48%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 683.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,551 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 308.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,369 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 10,097 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 36.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 39,005 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after purchasing an additional 10,450 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.3% during 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 period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 36,259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,636,000 after buying an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.