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 report issued on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $42.59 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.19. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. On average, equities analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total value of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,897.76. The trade was a 35.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total value of $3,863,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,100,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,155,941.85. This represents a 6.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLIC. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,361,000 after buying an additional 44,429 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.4% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 150,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,794,000 after acquiring an additional 40,990 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 27.8% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 88,712 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,977,000 after acquiring an additional 19,279 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 32.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 48,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 11,836 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 14,480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.