Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Raises Dividend to $0.21 Per Share

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 15th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.205 per share by the semiconductor company on Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has increased its dividend payment by an average of 15.5% annually over the last three years. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a payout ratio of 46.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of KLIC opened at $46.19 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52 week low of $38.20 and a 52 week high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KLIC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. Craig Hallum cut their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.