Systematic Financial Management LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Cohu, Inc. $COHU

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP cut its Cohu stake by 9.1% in the first quarter, selling 139,848 shares and ending with 1.4 million shares worth about $42.9 million.
• Insider selling continued at Cohu, including director Steven J. Bilodeau and SVP Christopher Bohrson, with insiders selling 89,668 shares worth about $4.2 million over the last three months.
• Analysts remain constructive on the stock: several firms raised price targets, and Cohu currently carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average target price of $63.86.

Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its position in shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,401,234 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 139,848 shares during the period. Cohu accounts for about 1.0% of Systematic Financial Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Systematic Financial Management LP owned approximately 2.97% of Cohu worth $42,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cohu by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 195,536 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 42,593 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Cohu in the 1st quarter worth approximately $705,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cohu by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,361,164 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $101,484,000 after buying an additional 57,618 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Cohu by 349.3% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 302,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,047,000 after buying an additional 235,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA raised its stake in Cohu by 4.0% during the first quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 646,133 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $19,785,000 after buying an additional 24,755 shares during the last quarter. 94.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven J. Bilodeau sold 10,257 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total transaction of $460,026.45. Following the sale, the director owned 52,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,344,399.20. This trade represents a 16.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.88, for a total transaction of $63,880.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 171,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,968,323.76. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 89,668 shares of company stock worth $4,210,016 in the last three months. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cohu Stock Performance

COHU stock opened at $54.51 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $56.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.72. The company has a current ratio of 6.43, a quick ratio of 5.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Cohu, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.80 and a 12-month high of $74.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of -45.81 and a beta of 1.55.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 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 business had revenue of $125.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Cohu from $33.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Cohu from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Cohu from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Cohu in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cohu and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.86.

Cohu Company Profile

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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