Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Kulicke and Soffa Industries has an average broker rating of “Moderate Buy” from six analysts, with a 12-month price target of $59.25.
• The company posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $0.79 EPS versus estimates of $0.67 and revenue of $242.62 million, up 49.8% year over year.
• The stock was trading around $104.40, near its 52-week high of $107.01, while the company also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share.

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.25.

KLIC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 3.3%

KLIC stock opened at $104.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.72 and a 200-day moving average of $63.24. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12 month low of $31.21 and a 12 month high of $107.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.38 and a beta of 1.66.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.12. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The company had revenue of $242.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.75 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.52) earnings per share. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's revenue was up 49.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.000- EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.85%.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, General Counsel Zi Yao Lim sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.98, for a total value of $154,470.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,184,617.72. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Jeffrey Richardson sold 9,364 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.19, for a total transaction of $675,987.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,694 shares in the company, valued at $1,277,329.86. This represents a 34.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,864 shares of company stock valued at $2,830,457 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,513,023 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $160,053,000 after purchasing an additional 20,535 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 21.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,348,020 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $81,241,000 after purchasing an additional 409,116 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,230,330 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $56,054,000 after acquiring an additional 77,527 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 125.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 926,915 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $60,917,000 after acquiring an additional 514,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 813,669 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $37,071,000 after acquiring an additional 148,374 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Kulicke & Soffa Industries NASDAQ: KLIC is a global supplier of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced die bonding, wire bonding, flip-chip bumping and wafer-level packaging systems. Its solutions support a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, automotive, communications and other high-growth segments within the semiconductor and LED industries.

Key products include precision wire bonders for microelectronic packaging, die attach systems for chip placement, flip-chip bonders for advanced packaging architectures and LED packaging platforms that enable high-volume production of automotive and general-illumination LEDs.

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