Brokerages Set Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) PT at $52.40

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.40.

KLIC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of 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. Craig Hallum cut their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of 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.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $48.42 on Monday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12 month low of $38.20 and a 12 month high of $56.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.37 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total value of $2,782,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,636 shares in the company, valued at $3,692,721.32. This trade 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 Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at $3,773,870.12. This trade represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 99,730 shares of company stock worth $4,657,261. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 14,480 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 264,638 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in 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. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 156.6% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 21,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,040,000 after purchasing an additional 73,243 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.