What is DA Davidson's Forecast for Cognex FY2024 Earnings?

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at DA Davidson cut their FY2024 earnings estimates for Cognex in a report released on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson analyst M. Summerville now expects that the scientific and technical instruments company will post earnings per share of $0.39 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $0.47. DA Davidson has a "Neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Cognex's current full-year earnings is $0.43 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Cognex's FY2025 earnings at $0.67 EPS.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CGNX. Truist Financial lowered Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Vertical Research started coverage on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.91.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ CGNX traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.05. 1,483,701 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,287,352. The company has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 82.79 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $39.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.99.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,522,549 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $743,307,000 after acquiring an additional 188,485 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,230,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $211,303,000 after purchasing an additional 131,560 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,018,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $187,907,000 after purchasing an additional 301,916 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,445,894 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $161,130,000 after purchasing an additional 49,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,154,625 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $91,399,000 after purchasing an additional 53,267 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cognex

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.