Bank of Nova Scotia Has $7.91 Million Position in Cohu, Inc. $COHU

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its stake in shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) by 31.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 258,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 120,030 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Cohu were worth $7,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cohu in the fourth quarter valued at $33,174,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cohu by 478.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,175,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,612,000 after purchasing an additional 972,088 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cohu in the 1st quarter valued at about $23,887,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new stake in Cohu in the 1st quarter valued at about $14,999,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Cohu in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,859,000. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cohu news, Director Steven J. Bilodeau sold 10,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total transaction of $460,026.45. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,399.20. This trade represents a 16.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Luis A. Muller sold 45,154 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total transaction of $2,105,079.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 927,619 shares in the company, valued at $43,245,597.78. This represents a 4.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 89,668 shares of company stock worth $4,210,016 in the last three months. 3.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of COHU opened at $50.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.31 and a current ratio of 6.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $56.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.60 and a beta of 1.55. Cohu, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.80 and a 52 week high of $74.60.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $125.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.14 million. Cohu had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a negative return on equity of 3.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COHU shares. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on Cohu from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Cohu from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Cohu from $33.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 target price on Cohu and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Cohu in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.86.

Cohu Profile

Cohu, Inc is a global provider of semiconductor test and inspection solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products designed to support chip manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers, and electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company’s product lineup includes automatic test handlers, wafer probers, test sockets, thermal subassembly systems and burn-in boards, all engineered to optimize throughput, accuracy and reliability in semiconductor production and final test.

Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Poway, California, Cohu has grown through both organic development and targeted acquisitions to become a recognized leader in test handling and interconnect technologies.