Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $29.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Cognex traded as low as $22.97 and last traded at $23.27, with a volume of 3580040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.51.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CGNX. UBS Group cut their target price on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Cognex during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 38.44 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.54.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. On average, research analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.46%.

About Cognex

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.