Benchmark Electronics’ (BHE) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $48.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE BHE opened at $46.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.21. Benchmark Electronics has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $52.57.

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

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Benchmark Electronics news, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total value of $281,880.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 47,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,254,617.18. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 424,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,469,540.70. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Benchmark Electronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 55.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after acquiring an additional 14,020 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 27.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 120,126 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,324,000 after purchasing an additional 25,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 841,602 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,307,000 after purchasing an additional 21,355 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 428.1% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 32,887 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,458,000 after buying an additional 26,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 128.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,024 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after buying an additional 48,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.