Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.62.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $38.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.05 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.08 and a 200-day moving average of $43.29. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $34.28 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.33 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,950.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Cognex by 99.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 46,877 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 23,353 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,020 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,545,000 after acquiring an additional 6,404 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth about $817,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,295,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $54,084,000 after acquiring an additional 61,890 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.