Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KLIC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC opened at $33.06 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 275.50 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1 year low of $32.92 and a 1 year high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 0.48%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 683.33%.

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.