Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Performance

NYSE:BHE opened at $47.32 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51 and a beta of 0.97. Benchmark Electronics has a 1-year low of $24.75 and a 1-year high of $52.57.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total transaction of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 424,173 shares in the company, valued at $19,469,540.70. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 7,073 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.70, for a total value of $302,017.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 42,027 shares in the company, valued at $1,794,552.90. This represents a 14.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Benchmark Electronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Benchmark Electronics in the 2nd quarter worth about $70,424,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 176.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 615,036 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $24,269,000 after buying an additional 392,699 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 85.9% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,176 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,606,000 after buying an additional 206,114 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,845,204 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $145,405,000 after buying an additional 159,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Benchmark Electronics by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 820,493 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,364,000 after acquiring an additional 133,602 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.