Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Craig Hallum dropped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC opened at $46.70 on Wednesday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.97 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.35.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLIC. Creative Planning raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 14,480 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,319,000 after acquiring an additional 264,638 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 156.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 21,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $33,040,000 after purchasing an additional 73,243 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.