Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $47.05, but opened at $48.98. Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares last traded at $48.34, with a volume of 169,653 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This is a positive change 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 1.80%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is currently -76.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on KLIC. StockNews.com lowered Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum dropped their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.33.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 3.1 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.67 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 14,480 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,319,000 after acquiring an additional 264,638 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,040,000 after acquiring an additional 73,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 156.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 21,946 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.