Brokerages Set Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) PT at $52.40

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.40.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KLIC shares. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price 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 stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Activity

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total transaction of $2,782,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,692,721.32. This trade represents a 42.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,100,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,155,941.85. This trade represents a 6.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLIC. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 17,075.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLIC opened at $46.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of -38.17 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.65. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.