Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 4,991 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 195,435 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,991 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Benchmark Electronics were worth $7,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BHE. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $868,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,145,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 203.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 18,425 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 12,355 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 71,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,108 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. 92.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Benchmark Electronics stock opened at $38.87 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.50. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.73 and a 1 year high of $52.57. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 6.37% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $631.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $640.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BHE shares. Lake Street Capital cut their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st.

About Benchmark Electronics

Benchmark Electronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers product design, engineering services, technology solutions, and manufacturing services in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The company provides engineering services and technology solutions, including new product design, prototype, testing, and related engineering services; and custom testing and technology solutions, as well as automation equipment design and build services.