Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Has Average Target Price of $71.00

Shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.00.

CGNX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 9th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $74.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 13th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 7.3% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,497 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Cognex by 6.1% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 73,624 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after buying an additional 4,233 shares during the last quarter. Xcelsior Advisor Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter valued at approximately $223,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Cognex by 4.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 298,843 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $18,125,000 after buying an additional 12,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,195,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

CGNX stock traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,189,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,153,212. Cognex has a 12-month low of $34.60 and a 12-month high of $72.88. The firm has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 34.97 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $58.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.30.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Cognex had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 21.50%. The company had revenue of $313.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0850. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.78%.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation develops machine vision products that help businesses automate the inspection, identification and measurement of manufactured goods and packages. Its offerings include vision systems, barcode readers, vision sensors and software that analyze images captured during production and logistics operations. The company’s technology is used in industries such as automotive, electronics, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and logistics. Applications include checking product quality, guiding robots and reading codes on items moving through manufacturing and distribution facilities.