Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The semiconductor company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $199.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.03% and a negative return on equity of 1.64%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of KLIC stock traded down $1.63 on Wednesday, reaching $55.57. 822,814 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 738,051. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a one year low of $26.63 and a one year high of $60.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of -2,777.31 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.81.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -4,100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on KLIC shares. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Friday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Zi Yao Lim sold 1,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $45,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 23,714 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,130. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.53, for a total transaction of $1,695,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 126,369 shares in the company, valued at $7,143,639.57. This represents a 19.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 36,204 shares of company stock valued at $2,003,450 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 64,220 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after purchasing an additional 5,836 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 168.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 49,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,631,000 after buying an additional 31,048 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,080 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 155,842 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,140,000 after acquiring an additional 11,522 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 66,898 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 23,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company Profile

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) is a global supplier of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced die bonding, wire bonding, flip-chip bumping and wafer-level packaging systems. Its solutions support a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, automotive, communications and other high-growth segments within the semiconductor and LED industries.

Key products include precision wire bonders for microelectronic packaging, die attach systems for chip placement, flip-chip bonders for advanced packaging architectures and LED packaging platforms that enable high-volume production of automotive and general-illumination LEDs.