Analyzing Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) & JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS)

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) and JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Kulicke and Soffa Industries and JinkoSolar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kulicke and Soffa Industries	-7.94%	0.61%	0.47%
JinkoSolar	1.65%	7.86%	2.00%

Volatility & Risk

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, JinkoSolar has a beta of 0.43, suggesting that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.2% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.8% of JinkoSolar shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of JinkoSolar shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Kulicke and Soffa Industries and JinkoSolar, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kulicke and Soffa Industries	0	3	1	0	2.25
JinkoSolar	1	5	0	0	1.83

Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus target price of $47.33, suggesting a potential upside of 7.94%. JinkoSolar has a consensus target price of $24.60, suggesting a potential upside of 20.47%. Given JinkoSolar’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe JinkoSolar is more favorable than Kulicke and Soffa Industries.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kulicke and Soffa Industries and JinkoSolar”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kulicke and Soffa Industries	$727.23 million	3.34	$57.15 million	($1.19)	-36.85
JinkoSolar	$111.76 billion	0.01	$485.56 million	$6.41	3.19

JinkoSolar has higher revenue and earnings than Kulicke and Soffa Industries. Kulicke and Soffa Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than JinkoSolar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Kulicke and Soffa Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. JinkoSolar pays an annual dividend of $2.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.5%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries pays out -67.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. JinkoSolar pays out 46.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

JinkoSolar beats Kulicke and Soffa Industries on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also services, maintains, repairs, and upgrades equipment. The company serves semiconductor device manufacturers, integrated device manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers, other electronics manufacturers, industrial manufacturers, foundry service providers, and automotive electronics suppliers primarily in the United States and the Asia/Pacific region. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.

About JinkoSolar

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, production, and marketing of photovoltaic products. The company offers solar modules, silicon wafers, solar cells, recovered silicon materials, and silicon ingots. It also provides solar system integration services; solar power generation and solar system EPC services; and energy storage system, as well as undertakes solar power projects. The company sells its products to distributors, project developers, system integrators, and manufacturers of solar power products under the JinkoSolar brand. As of December 31, 2023, it had an integrated annual capacity of 85 gigawatts (GW) for mono wafers; 90 GW for solar cells; and 110 GW for solar modules. It operates in China, the United States, Mexico, Australia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Jordan, Vietnam, Egypt, Spain, Germany, and internationally. JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Shangrao, the People's Republic of China.