Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.83.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CGNX shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. HSBC lowered Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX opened at $31.57 on Tuesday. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.50 and a 200 day moving average of $37.70. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.75 and a beta of 1.43.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. Equities research analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 129.9% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company Profile

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.