Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Receives $52.40 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.40.

KLIC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of 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. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,469.48. The trade was a 14.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLIC. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,361,000 after buying an additional 44,429 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 150,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,794,000 after acquiring an additional 40,990 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 88,712 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,977,000 after acquiring an additional 19,279 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 48,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 11,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 14,480 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of KLIC stock opened at $48.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of -39.31 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 (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The company had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

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.