Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of 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. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $47.33 on Friday. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of -38.48 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released 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). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The business had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 19th. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,897.76. The trade was a 35.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 433.4% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 52,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,582,000 after purchasing an additional 42,644 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.7% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 227,199 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,176,000 after buying an additional 21,900 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 5.7% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 122,036 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,003,000 after acquiring an additional 6,552 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $237,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $905,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.