Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) Short Interest Up 6.5% in September

Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 906,700 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the August 31st total of 851,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 284,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Benchmark Electronics

In related news, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 7,073 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.70, for a total value of $302,017.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 42,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,794,552.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Benchmark Electronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHE. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics during the 2nd quarter worth $1,144,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 51.4% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 10,965 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 172.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,379 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 49,045 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,935,000 after purchasing an additional 13,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the second quarter worth about $246,000. Institutional investors own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Performance

BHE stock traded down $1.26 on Tuesday, reaching $43.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 179,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 319,567. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51 and a beta of 0.98. Benchmark Electronics has a 52 week low of $22.66 and a 52 week high of $48.58.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $666.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.75 million. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share.

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BHE shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Benchmark Electronics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Benchmark Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.33.

Benchmark Electronics Company Profile

Benchmark Electronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers product design, engineering services, technology solutions, and manufacturing services in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The company provides engineering services and technology solutions, including new product design, prototype, testing, and related engineering services; and custom testing and technology solutions, as well as automation equipment design and build services.