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

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $802.74.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday.

KLA Trading Up 3.2 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $698.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $679.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $683.40. KLA has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $92.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth $994,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $310,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 172,389 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $133,500,000 after purchasing an additional 8,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.