Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $29.87 and last traded at $29.90, with a volume of 316021 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on CGNX shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.04 and its 200-day moving average is $37.56. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.83 and a beta of 1.43.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,844 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 10,458 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Cognex by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,038,345 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $73,095,000 after purchasing an additional 177,324 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth $124,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.