Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Rating Increased to Buy at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $55.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $46.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.55 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1-year low of $38.20 and a 1-year high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -65.04%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.3% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.