Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $36.13 and last traded at $36.53, with a volume of 1147484 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLIC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their target price 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 311.33 and a beta of 1.36.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 683.33%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,838 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,897.76. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,762,112 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $82,220,000 after buying an additional 717,832 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,109,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,134,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 286.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 423,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $19,747,000 after purchasing an additional 313,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,154,000 after purchasing an additional 187,673 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.