Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Hold Rating for Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports.

Separately, TheStreet lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.00. The company had a trading volume of 535,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,442. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12 month low of $40.20 and a 12 month high of $60.20. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.50 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.20.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The semiconductor company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($1.19). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a positive return on equity of 2.22% and a negative net margin of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $172.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is -67.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 8,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.97, for a total transaction of $429,515.87. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,240 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,032.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLIC. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 340.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 573 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 224.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 672 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 779 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.