Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on BHE. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Benchmark Electronics stock opened at $48.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.97. Benchmark Electronics has a 1 year low of $24.75 and a 1 year high of $52.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.84.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $658.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.00 million. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 2.32% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share.

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.53%.

Insider Activity at Benchmark Electronics

In other Benchmark Electronics news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total value of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 424,173 shares in the company, valued at $19,469,540.70. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total value of $281,880.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,254,617.18. The trade was a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Benchmark Electronics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BHE. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,897,568 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $84,081,000 after acquiring an additional 11,738 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 841,602 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,307,000 after purchasing an additional 21,355 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc raised its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 50.5% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 15,054 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 5,054 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 128.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,024 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after buying an additional 48,425 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 10.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 193,205 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,555,000 after buying an additional 17,697 shares during the period. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Benchmark Electronics

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.