Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average of $31.81

Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $31.81 and traded as high as $40.18. Benchmark Electronics shares last traded at $39.47, with a volume of 805,211 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BHE shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Fox Advisors lowered shares of Benchmark Electronics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Sidoti lowered shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 1.03.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.05. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 7.20%. The firm had revenue of $675.58 million for the quarter.

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.49, for a total value of $394,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,779,498.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.49, for a total value of $394,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,779,498.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jan M. Janick sold 6,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.87, for a total transaction of $263,421.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 67,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,375.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,560 shares of company stock valued at $688,374. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $145,405,000 after buying an additional 159,716 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,996,161 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $82,815,000 after buying an additional 21,170 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,351,157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,986,000 after buying an additional 42,570 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,328,401 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,227,000 after buying an additional 199,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 902,475 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $24,944,000 after purchasing an additional 243,480 shares in the last quarter. 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.