Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on KLIC. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ KLIC opened at $47.54 on Thursday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $56.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of -38.65 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.00 and a 200 day moving average of $45.76.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th were issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

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

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were 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. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,897.76. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,361,000 after purchasing an additional 44,429 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 150,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,794,000 after buying an additional 40,990 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 27.8% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 88,712 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,977,000 after acquiring an additional 19,279 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 32.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 48,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 11,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 14,480 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.