Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Increases Dividend to $0.21 Per Share

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 15th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a dividend of 0.205 per share by the semiconductor company on Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has raised its dividend by an average of 15.5% per year over the last three years. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a dividend payout ratio of 43.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 1.3 %

KLIC stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,174,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 499,950. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.40 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLIC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Craig Hallum dropped 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

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

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.