Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on KLIC. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC opened at $43.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of -35.69 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.44. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 177,533 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,469.48. The trade was a 14.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.