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

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.40.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KLIC. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total transaction of $2,782,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,636 shares in the company, valued at $3,692,721.32. This represents a 42.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 177,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,469.48. The trade was a 14.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 99,730 shares of company stock worth $4,657,261. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $142,943,000 after buying an additional 128,026 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in 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 buying an additional 264,638 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,154,000 after buying an additional 187,673 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,075,790 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $52,918,000 after buying an additional 291,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $33,040,000 after buying an additional 73,243 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLIC traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $49.95. 682,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 503,755. The business's fifty day moving average is $45.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.37. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a one year low of $38.20 and a one year high of $56.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -40.61 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The company had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.