KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $800.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. New Street Research began coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, December 18th. They issued a buy rating and a $730.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Susquehanna restated a neutral rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven 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 $688.42.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $644.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $684.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $591.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34. KLA has a 52 week low of $355.88 and a 52 week high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.