StockNews.com Upgrades Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) to “Buy”

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BHE traded down $0.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.16. 201,443 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,736. Benchmark Electronics has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $52.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.97.

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

Insider Transactions at Benchmark Electronics

In related news, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total transaction of $281,880.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 47,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,254,617.18. This represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total value of $1,101,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 424,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,469,540.70. The trade was a 5.36 % 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benchmark Electronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BHE. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 55.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after buying an additional 14,020 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 27.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 120,126 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,324,000 after acquiring an additional 25,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 428.1% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 32,887 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 26,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 128.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,024 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 48,425 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.