Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Receives $52.40 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.40.

KLIC has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Craig Hallum cut their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 3.2 %

Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $47.41 on Monday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12 month low of $38.20 and a 12 month high of $56.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.54 and its 200-day moving average is $45.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.54 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The firm had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is -65.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total transaction of $2,782,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,636 shares in the company, valued at $3,692,721.32. This represents a 42.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $448,261.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,730 shares of company stock worth $4,657,261 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KLIC. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,075,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $52,918,000 after acquiring an additional 291,787 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,319,000 after purchasing an additional 264,638 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $50,154,000 after purchasing an additional 187,673 shares during the period. DDD Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the second quarter valued at $8,163,000. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 57.5% in the second quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 443,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,791,000 after purchasing an additional 161,791 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.