KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Upgraded to Buy at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $750.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $809.10.

KLA Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $690.99 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $650.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $727.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a 1-year low of $552.85 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.