Cerity Partners LLC Buys Shares of 12,849 Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC acquired 12,849 shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc., valued at approximately $489,000, marking a significant new investment during the 1st quarter.
• The stock has seen recent adjustments in ratings, with Needham & Company and Lake Street Capital reducing their target prices while Wall Street Zen upgraded the rating from "hold" to "buy".
• Benchmark Electronics reported a quarterly revenue of $631.76 million, a decrease of 6.5% year-over-year, with an EPS of $0.52 exceeding analysts' expectations.

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,849 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,909,918 shares of the technology company's stock worth $86,710,000 after purchasing an additional 12,350 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 815,499 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,024,000 after acquiring an additional 253,730 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 436,181 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $19,803,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 418,234 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $18,988,000 after acquiring an additional 31,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 346,368 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $15,725,000 after acquiring an additional 39,389 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Benchmark Electronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Lake Street Capital dropped their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BHE traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.85. 156,969 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 200,171. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79 and a beta of 0.95. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.73 and a 52 week high of $52.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.20.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 6.37% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $631.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $640.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Benchmark Electronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.90%.

Benchmark Electronics Profile

Benchmark Electronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers product design, engineering services, technology solutions, and manufacturing services in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The company provides engineering services and technology solutions, including new product design, prototype, testing, and related engineering services; and custom testing and technology solutions, as well as automation equipment design and build services.