Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.21

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 6th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of 0.205 per share by the semiconductor company on Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has increased its dividend by an average of 10.9% annually over the last three years. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a payout ratio of 36.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Kulicke and Soffa Industries to earn $1.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.82 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.4%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $38.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 317.08 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a fifty-two week low of $36.13 and a fifty-two week high of $53.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.34 and a 200 day moving average of $44.63.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total value of $564,082.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,897.76. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KLIC. StockNews.com upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target 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, DA Davidson decreased their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company Profile

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.