Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on KLIC. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $46.70 on Wednesday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.97 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $44.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.35.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.4% during the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.