Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.50.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ KLIC opened at $46.20 on Tuesday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a fifty-two week low of $38.20 and a fifty-two week high of $56.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -37.08 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -65.04%.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $142,943,000 after buying an additional 128,026 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $66,319,000 after acquiring an additional 264,638 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,154,000 after acquiring an additional 187,673 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $33,040,000 after purchasing an additional 73,243 shares during the last quarter. 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.