Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.21

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 29th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, June 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.205 per share by the semiconductor company on Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has raised its dividend by an average of 10.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 7 consecutive years. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a payout ratio of 53.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Kulicke and Soffa Industries to earn $1.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.82 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.4%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.17. 1,052,412 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 574,354. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.33. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52 week low of $26.63 and a 52 week high of $53.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 276.42 and a beta of 1.53.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.71). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 0.48%. The business had revenue of $161.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 8.0% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 11,522 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 55.7% during the first 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 last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 64,220 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,118,000 after acquiring an additional 5,836 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 168.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 49,445 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 31,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.9% during the first 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. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLIC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $53.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $50.00 to $36.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.50.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells capital equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices. It operates through four segments: Ball Bonding Equipment, Wedge Bonding Equipment, Advanced Solutions, and Aftermarket Products and Services (APS). The company offers ball bonding equipment, wafer level bonding equipment, wedge bonding equipment; and advanced display, die-attach, and thermocompression systems and solutions, as well as tools, spares and services for equipment.