Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.15.

Several analysts have recently commented on CGNX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Cognex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. HSBC upgraded shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up previously from $47.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, May 7th.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $46.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.21 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.48. Cognex has a 1-year low of $34.28 and a 1-year high of $59.51.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter. Cognex had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The company had revenue of $210.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.14 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Cognex by 94.4% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1,239.7% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 303.1% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 71.1% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 804 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Company Profile

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.