Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

KLIC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 2.8 %

KLIC opened at $43.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.69 and a beta of 1.37. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12-month low of $38.20 and a 12-month high of $53.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.44.

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). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The business had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th were paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 177,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,469.48. This trade represents a 14.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $905,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 418.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 69,211 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,404,000 after acquiring an additional 55,862 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $457,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the second quarter worth $279,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.