DA Davidson Forecasts Cognex’s FY2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) – Equities research analysts at DA Davidson cut their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Cognex in a report released on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson analyst M. Summerville now expects that the scientific and technical instruments company will post earnings of $0.39 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $0.47. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Cognex’s current full-year earnings is $0.43 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Cognex’s FY2025 earnings at $0.67 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CGNX. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Stephens raised Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.91.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX opened at $43.05 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.79 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex has a one year low of $34.79 and a one year high of $53.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.99.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 19.8% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Cognex by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Cognex by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,977 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 2.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s payout ratio is presently 57.69%.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.