Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $47.05, but opened at $48.98. Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares last traded at $48.34, with a volume of 169,653 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently -76.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLIC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum decreased their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.33.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 3.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of -45.67 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $44.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.36.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KLIC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 128,026 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 264,638 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 187,673 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 291,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 73,243 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.