Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on BHE. Zacks Research raised Benchmark Electronics to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Benchmark Electronics in a report on Friday, October 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Benchmark Electronics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Down 5.4%

NYSE BHE opened at $68.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Benchmark Electronics has a 52 week low of $41.69 and a 52 week high of $100.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 44.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.28.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.05. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 7.71%. The company had revenue of $810.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $776.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Benchmark Electronics will post 2.40 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.87%.

Institutional Trading of Benchmark Electronics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics during the second quarter worth about $579,768,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,061,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,803,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,046,000. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,794,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

Benchmark Electronics Company Profile

Benchmark Electronics, Inc is a provider of integrated electronics manufacturing and engineering services. The company helps original equipment manufacturers design, develop, test, manufacture and support complex electronic products and systems.

Its services include product design and engineering, prototyping, printed circuit board assembly, systems integration, precision machining, testing, supply chain management, and aftermarket support. Benchmark serves customers in industries such as aerospace and defense, medical technology, industrial equipment, semiconductor capital equipment, and advanced computing.

Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, Benchmark operates manufacturing and engineering facilities across North America, Europe and Asia.