Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $32.35 and last traded at $32.67, with a volume of 398260 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CGNX. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.77 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 123.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Cognex by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.