Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The semiconductor company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 8.92%. The company had revenue of $202.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 29.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $50.65 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.17. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12-month low of $40.20 and a 12-month high of $60.20. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.16 and a beta of 1.41.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 21st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 20th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLIC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,094,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,556,241.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 4,084 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.88, for a total value of $199,625.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $958,487.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,094,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,556,241.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the first quarter worth about $303,000. Ethic Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $277,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,125 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,359 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,069 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. 98.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 two segments, Capital Equipment, and Aftermarket Products and Services (APS). The company manufactures and sells advanced displays; die-transfer, flip-chip, and TCB advanced packaging products; ball bonder, die-attach, electronics assembly, lithography, wafer-level bonder, and wedge bonder products; consumables, such as capillaries, dicing blades, and wedge bonds; and auto offline programming, KNet PLUS, and new product introduction/manufacturing execution system software products.