Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded 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 note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of KLIC traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.32. 176,064 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,034. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.47 and a beta of 1.37. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52 week low of $38.20 and a 52 week high of $56.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $47.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.72.

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 (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 business had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. 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 -66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,897.76. The trade was a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,361,000 after buying an additional 44,429 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 27.8% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 88,712 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,977,000 after acquiring an additional 19,279 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in 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 worth $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 11,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its stake 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 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 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.