Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLIC. StockNews.com raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 177,533 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,469.48. This represents a 14.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,897.76. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KLIC. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $66,319,000 after purchasing an additional 264,638 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,154,000 after buying an additional 187,673 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the third quarter worth about $4,062,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 105.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 146,079 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,593,000 after buying an additional 75,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 530,827 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $24,768,000 after acquiring an additional 74,920 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $41.55 on Friday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1-year low of $38.20 and a 1-year high of $53.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of -33.78 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.17.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. Equities analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th were issued a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.