Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Benchmark Electronics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Fox Advisors lowered Benchmark Electronics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Sidoti lowered Benchmark Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.33.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BHE traded up $7.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.87. 822,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 340,754. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16 and a beta of 0.99. Benchmark Electronics has a 12-month low of $22.66 and a 12-month high of $48.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $666.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.75 million. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 7.20% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company’s revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Benchmark Electronics news, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.49, for a total transaction of $394,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,779,498.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Arvind Kamal sold 783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.38, for a total transaction of $30,051.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $795,809.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.49, for a total value of $394,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,062 shares in the company, valued at $1,779,498.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,560 shares of company stock worth $688,374. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 1.8% during the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 15,244 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 65.7% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 686 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 2.3% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 31,229 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 81.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.