Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Trading Up 3.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) shot up 3.2% on Friday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $50.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Kulicke and Soffa Industries traded as high as $47.71 and last traded at $47.06. 130,431 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 495,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.61.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on KLIC. Craig Hallum dropped their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLIC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $142,943,000 after buying an additional 128,026 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,319,000 after acquiring an additional 264,638 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% during 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,075,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $52,918,000 after purchasing an additional 291,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $33,040,000 after purchasing an additional 73,243 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 3.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.08 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.00 and its 200 day moving average is $45.36.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -65.04%.

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

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.