Head to Head Review: Nikon (OTCMKTS:NINOY) & Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Nikon (OTCMKTS:NINOY) and Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Nikon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.2% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Nikon and Kulicke and Soffa Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nikon	0	0	0	0	0.00
Kulicke and Soffa Industries	0	1	3	0	2.75

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a consensus target price of $44.50, suggesting a potential upside of 32.99%. Given Kulicke and Soffa Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Kulicke and Soffa Industries is more favorable than Nikon.

Volatility & Risk

Nikon has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a beta of 1.53, suggesting that its share price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Nikon pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Nikon pays out 90.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Kulicke and Soffa Industries pays out 227.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Kulicke and Soffa Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Nikon and Kulicke and Soffa Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nikon	0.85%	0.90%	0.53%
Kulicke and Soffa Industries	3.11%	0.76%	0.58%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nikon and Kulicke and Soffa Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nikon	$4.70 billion	0.69	$40.41 million	$0.11	88.76
Kulicke and Soffa Industries	$706.23 million	2.50	-$69.01 million	$0.36	92.94

Nikon has higher revenue and earnings than Kulicke and Soffa Industries. Nikon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kulicke and Soffa Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Kulicke and Soffa Industries beats Nikon on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nikon

Nikon Corporation manufactures and sells optical instruments in Japan, North America, Europe, China, Thailand, and internationally. It operates through Imaging Products Business, Precision Equipment Business, Healthcare Business, Components Business, and Industrial equipment and Others segments. The Imaging Products Business segment provides digital SLR cameras, compact digital cameras, and interchangeable camera lenses. The Precision Equipment Business segment offers FPD lithography systems and semiconductor lithography systems. The Healthcare Business segment provides biological microscopes, cell culture observation systems, and ultra-wide field retinal imaging devices, as well as products and services related to the contract cell development and manufacturing field. The Components Business segment offers optical components, optical parts, encoders, and material processing products and services; EUV-related components and space-related solutions; and photomask substrates for FPDs. The Industrial equipment and Others segment provides industrial microscopes, non-contact 3D metrology systems, measuring instruments, X-ray/CT inspection systems, and surveying instruments. In addition, it sells used equipment; provides maintenance services for FPD/semiconductor lithography systems; sells and services cameras, microscopes, measuring instruments, and X-ray inspection equipment; and develops and supports computer software. Further, the company is involved in the procurement, logistics, and welfare activities; development, manufacturing, and testing services for eyeglass and lenses; and assembly of camera units. Nikon Corporation was incorporated in 1917 and is headquartered in Minato, Japan.

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. It also services, maintains, repairs, and upgrades equipment. The company serves semiconductor device manufacturers, integrated device manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers, other electronics manufacturers, industrial manufacturers, foundry service providers, and automotive electronics suppliers primarily in the United States and the Asia/Pacific region. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.