Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,278,512 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $152,975,000 after purchasing an additional 50,430 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,762,112 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $82,220,000 after purchasing an additional 717,832 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,502,640 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $70,113,000 after buying an additional 33,124 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,165,428 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $54,379,000 after purchasing an additional 54,116 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 734,140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,255,000 after purchasing an additional 77,479 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 0.2 %

KLIC stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 375,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 546,563. The company's fifty day moving average is $34.35 and its 200-day moving average is $42.12. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1 year low of $26.63 and a 1 year high of $53.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 267.33 and a beta of 1.50.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 0.48%. Analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is currently 683.33%.

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.