Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) Short Interest Update

Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,100,000 shares, a drop of 7.6% from the July 31st total of 1,190,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 370,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BHE. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Fox Advisors downgraded Benchmark Electronics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Benchmark Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Benchmark Electronics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 7,073 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.70, for a total transaction of $302,017.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 42,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,794,552.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benchmark Electronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BHE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,845,204 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $145,405,000 after acquiring an additional 159,716 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,012,717 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,881,000 after purchasing an additional 12,112 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,351,157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,986,000 after buying an additional 42,570 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics during the second quarter worth approximately $70,424,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 902,475 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,944,000 after buying an additional 243,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

Benchmark Electronics Price Performance

Shares of BHE traded down $0.10 on Monday, hitting $42.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 292,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,659. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Benchmark Electronics has a fifty-two week low of $22.66 and a fifty-two week high of $48.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.78.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $666.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.75 million. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 2.45%. Benchmark Electronics’s revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS.

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Benchmark Electronics’s payout ratio is 36.07%.

Benchmark Electronics Company Profile

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.