Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.40.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KLIC shares. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total value of $564,082.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,897.76. This represents a 35.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 17,075.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 33,970 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 3,849 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 315,437 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,577,000 after purchasing an additional 29,800 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 73,243 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 25.9% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,485 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 4,003 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 1.2 %

KLIC stock opened at $48.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.02 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.26 and a 200-day moving average of $45.66. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12-month low of $38.20 and a 12-month high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company Profile

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.