Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the four research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.33.

A number of research firms recently commented on KLIC. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Craig Hallum reduced their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC opened at $44.65 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.52 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 results on Wednesday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $181.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.28 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a positive return on equity of 0.61% and a negative net margin of 7.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -67.23%.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the first quarter worth $26,036,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $18,531,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 291,787 shares during the period. DDD Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the second quarter valued at about $8,163,000. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 57.5% during the second quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 443,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,791,000 after purchasing an additional 161,791 shares during 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.