Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives $39.17 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.17.

Several brokerages have commented on CGNX. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Cognex Trading Down 0.1%

Cognex stock opened at $31.58 on Wednesday. Cognex has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $53.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.77 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.33.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 439.4% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.