StockNews.com Downgrades Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on 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. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.70. The company had a trading volume of 613,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,967. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -37.06 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1-year low of $38.20 and a 1-year high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $180.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is -65.04%.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 14,480 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 264,638 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 156.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,958 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 21,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $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 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.