Needham & Company LLC Cuts Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) Price Target to $48.00

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) had its price target cut by Needham & Company LLC from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Down 14.7 %

BHE stock opened at $32.65 on Wednesday. Benchmark Electronics has a twelve month low of $29.52 and a twelve month high of $52.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.06.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $631.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $640.00 million. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 2.38%. Benchmark Electronics’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS.

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Benchmark Electronics’s payout ratio is currently 46.90%.

Insider Activity at Benchmark Electronics

In other Benchmark Electronics news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total transaction of $232,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 448,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,398,347.60. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Benchmark Electronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Benchmark Electronics by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 6,162 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 5,620 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,846 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in Benchmark Electronics by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 73,047 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,316,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

About Benchmark Electronics

Benchmark Electronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers product design, engineering services, technology solutions, and manufacturing services in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The company provides engineering services and technology solutions, including new product design, prototype, testing, and related engineering services; and custom testing and technology solutions, as well as automation equipment design and build services.