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

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $806.35.

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

KLA Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $771.91 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $658.87 and its 200 day moving average is $723.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a twelve month low of $581.70 and a twelve month high of $896.32. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that KLA will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.