KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $1,800.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on KLAC. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of KLA from $1,751.00 to $1,809.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $1,350.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on KLA from $1,850.00 to $1,700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,630.00 price objective on KLA in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,602.29.

KLA Stock Up 1.4%

KLAC stock opened at $1,438.24 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,466.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,247.05. KLA has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $1,693.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.52 billion, a PE ratio of 41.85, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.75 by $0.10. KLA had a net margin of 35.76% and a return on equity of 98.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 125.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.