Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $32.35 and last traded at $32.67, with a volume of 398260 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CGNX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 53.77 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.35 and a 200 day moving average of $38.75.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $110,758.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning raised its position in Cognex by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 719.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,171 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 474,163 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $19,204,000 after acquiring an additional 95,063 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $283,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Cognex by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,386 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 5,084 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.