Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.14.

A number of analysts have issued reports on CGNX shares. Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cognex from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Cognex from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Cognex from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $50.27 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.61. The stock has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 86.67 and a beta of 1.42. Cognex has a 1-year low of $34.28 and a 1-year high of $55.08.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $210.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.14 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Slow Capital Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 71,178 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 5,874 shares during the last quarter. JB Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,380,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the second quarter valued at $255,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Cognex by 11.3% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 2,056,701 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $96,171,000 after acquiring an additional 480,143 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.