Brokerages Set Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Target Price at $47.33

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the four brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.33.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Craig Hallum lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC opened at $45.58 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.26. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52 week low of $38.20 and a 52 week high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $181.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.28 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a positive return on equity of 0.61% and a negative net margin of 7.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is -76.92%.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $142,943,000 after purchasing an additional 128,026 shares during the period. 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 worth $66,319,000 after buying an additional 264,638 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% during 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position 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 buying an additional 73,243 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 648,357 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,619,000 after acquiring an additional 48,590 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.