Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Cognex a “Moderate Buy” consensus: 11 of 19 covering analysts rate it Buy, one Strong Buy and seven Hold; the average 12-month price target is $71.
• Cognex’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.53 narrowly beat estimates, while revenue of $313.39 million was slightly below expectations; revenue increased 13% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.085 to $0.09 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.36 and a 0.7% yield.

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Cognex from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cognex during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 81.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 446 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 635.4% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Trading Down 1.5%

Cognex stock traded down $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,189,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,153,212. The stock has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.97 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex has a 1-year low of $34.60 and a 1-year high of $72.88. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $58.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.30.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. Cognex had a net margin of 21.50% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The firm had revenue of $313.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $313.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Cognex will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.0850. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.78%.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation develops machine vision products that help businesses automate the inspection, identification and measurement of manufactured goods and packages. Its offerings include vision systems, barcode readers, vision sensors and software that analyze images captured during production and logistics operations. The company's technology is used in industries such as automotive, electronics, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and logistics. Applications include checking product quality, guiding robots and reading codes on items moving through manufacturing and distribution facilities.

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