Cohu, Inc. $COHU Shares Bought by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp sharply increased its stake in Cohu during the first quarter, boosting holdings by 8,267.3% to 39,159 shares worth about $1.2 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but mostly positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $63.86. Several firms recently raised targets, though Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell rating.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Luis A. Muller and Director Steven J. Bilodeau, with insiders selling 89,668 shares over the last 90 days.

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Free Report) by 8,267.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,159 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,691 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.08% of Cohu worth $1,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Cohu by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 16,231 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in Cohu by 3.0% during the first quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,644 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Cohu by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,847 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cohu by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Cohu by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 65,233 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COHU shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Cohu from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on Cohu from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Cohu in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Cohu from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Luis A. Muller sold 45,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total value of $2,105,079.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 927,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,245,597.78. This represents a 4.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Steven J. Bilodeau sold 10,257 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total value of $460,026.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,344,399.20. The trade was a 16.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,668 shares of company stock worth $4,210,016. 3.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COHU opened at $50.70 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of -42.60 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 6.43 and a quick ratio of 5.31. Cohu, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.80 and a 12 month high of $74.60.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). Cohu had a negative return on equity of 3.50% and a negative net margin of 11.54%.The firm had revenue of $125.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $122.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

About Cohu

Cohu, Inc is a global provider of semiconductor test and inspection solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products designed to support chip manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers, and electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company's product lineup includes automatic test handlers, wafer probers, test sockets, thermal subassembly systems and burn-in boards, all engineered to optimize throughput, accuracy and reliability in semiconductor production and final test.

Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Poway, California, Cohu has grown through both organic development and targeted acquisitions to become a recognized leader in test handling and interconnect technologies.

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