Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BHE opened at $47.62 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.16. Benchmark Electronics has a 1 year low of $24.93 and a 1 year high of $52.57. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.53%.

Insider Activity at Benchmark Electronics

In related news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 owns 424,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,469,540.70. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total transaction of $281,880.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,254,617.18. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benchmark Electronics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,012,717 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $118,881,000 after purchasing an additional 12,112 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,944,347 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,173,000 after buying an additional 159,659 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 0.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,897,568 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $84,081,000 after acquiring an additional 11,738 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 841,602 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,307,000 after acquiring an additional 21,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 19.5% in the third 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.

About Benchmark Electronics

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.