KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Up 3.6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) rose 3.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $743.95 and last traded at $742.27. Approximately 158,278 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,093,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $716.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on KLAC. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.60.

KLA Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $654.99 and its 200-day moving average is $726.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 11.7% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 238 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth $297,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in KLA by 8.5% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 7,935 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,542,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Investment Advisors lifted its position in KLA by 21.5% during the second quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,538 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by 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.