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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

KLIC opened at $46.20 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -37.08 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is -65.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 205,299 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $10,329,000 after buying an additional 15,350 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 460,704 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,178,000 after purchasing an additional 97,278 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 14,480 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in 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.