Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $57.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $59.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of -2,974.01 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.50. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52-week low of $26.63 and a 52-week high of $60.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The semiconductor company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $177.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.84 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.03% and a negative return on equity of 1.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -4,100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.53, for a total value of $1,695,900.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 126,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,143,639.57. This represents a 19.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Zi Yao Lim sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $45,000.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 23,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,067,130. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,004 shares of company stock worth $1,991,450. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 7,609.1% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 848 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 837 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2,665.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 968 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) is a global supplier of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced die bonding, wire bonding, flip-chip bumping and wafer-level packaging systems. Its solutions support a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, automotive, communications and other high-growth segments within the semiconductor and LED industries.

Key products include precision wire bonders for microelectronic packaging, die attach systems for chip placement, flip-chip bonders for advanced packaging architectures and LED packaging platforms that enable high-volume production of automotive and general-illumination LEDs.