Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.67.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Cognex from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Cognex by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Cognex by 402.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 24.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 9,223 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 526.1% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 474,133 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,143,000 after buying an additional 398,409 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the first quarter valued at $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $30.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.43 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.85. Cognex has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $53.13.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

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.