TD Cowen Issues Positive Forecast for Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Stock Price

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) had its price target upped by TD Cowen from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

KLIC has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Craig Hallum reduced their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 1.3 %

KLIC stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,366,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,819. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.55 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.27 and a 200 day moving average of $45.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a fifty-two week low of $38.20 and a fifty-two week high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -65.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KLIC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $142,943,000 after purchasing an additional 128,026 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $66,319,000 after buying an additional 264,638 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,154,000 after acquiring an additional 187,673 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,075,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,918,000 after acquiring an additional 291,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,040,000 after purchasing an additional 73,243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.