Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Raised to “Buy” at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $55.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on KLIC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum cut their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of KLIC stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,366,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,819. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -37.55 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12-month low of $38.20 and a 12-month high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is -65.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,361,000 after acquiring an additional 44,429 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19,279 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 32.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 48,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after buying an additional 11,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 59.7% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 140,269 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,330,000 after buying an additional 52,419 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is 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.