Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BHE. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Benchmark Electronics stock opened at $46.53 on Friday. Benchmark Electronics has a 1 year low of $23.62 and a 1 year high of $48.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $43.29 and its 200 day moving average is $41.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05 and a beta of 0.97.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.03. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 2.32% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The firm had revenue of $658.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 1.46%. Benchmark Electronics’s payout ratio is 39.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 7,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.70, for a total transaction of $302,017.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 42,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,794,552.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 14,020 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 2.2% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 14,115 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 8.5% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 46,805 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after buying an additional 3,683 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 16.8% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 8,329 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 184,332 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,170,000 after acquiring an additional 6,561 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

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.