Benchmark Electronics’ (BHE) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $48.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Benchmark Electronics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Performance

Shares of Benchmark Electronics stock opened at $47.64 on Tuesday. Benchmark Electronics has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $52.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.26.

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

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio is 39.53%.

Insider Activity at Benchmark Electronics

In other Benchmark Electronics news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 424,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,469,540.70. The trade was a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 47,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,254,617.18. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,655,340. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Benchmark Electronics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHE. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 172.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,379 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 125.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 54.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 161.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.