Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 72,730 Shares of Cohu, Inc. $COHU

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 72,730 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,956,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.15% of Cohu at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COHU. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cohu by 17.7% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,510 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cohu during the third quarter worth $413,000. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Cohu in the 3rd quarter valued at about $264,000. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cohu by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,187 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in Cohu during the third quarter worth $3,324,000. 94.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cohu Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COHU opened at $45.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 4.24 and a current ratio of 5.16. Cohu, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $75.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of -86.54 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.99 and its 200-day moving average is $47.61.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.08. Cohu had a positive return on equity of 1.47% and a negative net margin of 3.97%. The business had revenue of $172.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.25 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.06) EPS. Cohu’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COHU has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Cohu from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Cohu from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on shares of Cohu from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cohu currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.82, for a total transaction of $558,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 159,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,914,565.64. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Luis Muller sold 55,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,347,640.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 871,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,309,500. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 116,692 shares of company stock worth $7,374,716 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.05% of the company’s stock.

Cohu Company Profile

Cohu, Inc. designs and manufactures equipment and components used to test, inspect, and handle semiconductors. Its products include semiconductor test handlers, inspection systems, test contactors, and thermal subsystems that support testing at various stages of chip production. The company serves semiconductor manufacturers and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers around the world. Its equipment is used across a range of semiconductor applications, including devices for automotive, industrial, communications, and consumer markets.