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 Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $47.33 on Friday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a fifty-two week low of $38.20 and a fifty-two week high of $56.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.48 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in 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 usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $448,261.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total value of $3,863,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,100,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,155,941.85. This represents a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.