8 Best Dividend Paying Debt Free Stocks to Invest in

5. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 19

Market Cap as of December 7: $2.60 billion 

Enterprise Value as of December 7: $2.06 billion

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) ranks fifth on our list of the best debt free stocks that pay dividends. The Singapore-based semiconductor manufacturing company specializes in cutting-edge semiconductors and electronics assembly solutions. The stock is down by over 8.5% so far this year. The company experienced a significant drop in demand for its core ball-bonder equipment, which is used to package high-volume general electronics like phones and PCs, following the surge during the pandemic. Although these markets have started to rebound slightly, they have yet to show substantial recovery. Additionally, the company’s industrial and automotive wedge-bonding equipment has faced a recent downturn due to the slowdown in the electric vehicle market.

However, in its Q3 2024 earnings call, Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) highlighted that it is focused on promoting market adoption of its advanced packaging and assembly solutions, which include vertical wire, high-power interconnect (HPI), advanced dispense, and fluxless thermo-compression (FTC) technologies. Demand for these solutions is expected to gain momentum as the general semiconductor and automotive markets recover, projected to accelerate throughout fiscal year 2025. In fiscal Q4 2024, the company reported revenue of $181.3 million, which surpassed analysts’ estimates by $1.02 million.

On November 13, Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) announced a 2.5% hike in its quarterly dividend to $0.205 per share. This was the company’s fifth consecutive year of dividend growth. Its strong cash position makes it a strong dividend payer. In the most recent quarter, the company generated $31.6 million in operating cash flow and its free cash flow for the period came in at $29.2 million.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) was a part of 19 hedge fund portfolios at the end of Q3 2024, up from 17 in the previous quarter, as per Insider Monkey’s database. The stakes owned by these hedge funds have a consolidated value of nearly $200 million.