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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 13th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a dividend of 0.205 per share by the semiconductor company on Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has raised its dividend by an average of 15.5% annually over the last three years. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a payout ratio of 43.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Kulicke and Soffa Industries to earn $1.46 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.8%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:KLIC traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $45.73. The stock had a trading volume of 563,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,417. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of -45.67 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1-year low of $38.20 and a 1-year high of $56.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLIC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Craig Hallum cut their target price on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.33.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.