Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on KLIC. Craig Hallum lowered their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.33.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of KLIC opened at $45.58 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.83 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a fifty-two week low of $38.20 and a fifty-two week high of $56.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.26.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.05. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 7.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.61%. The company had revenue of $181.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is currently -76.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KLIC. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.1% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 49,309 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Donald L. Hagan LLC raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.