KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $816.63.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th.

KLA Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $644.81 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $652.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $740.74. KLA has a 52 week low of $542.41 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $86.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,419,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.2% during the second quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,540 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,143,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in KLA by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 32,410 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in KLA by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 747 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.