KLA (KLAC) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) is scheduled to release its earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect KLA to post earnings of $5.08 per share for the quarter. KLA has set its Q3 guidance at $4.66-5.86 EPS.Individual that are interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect KLA to post $23 EPS for the current fiscal year and $27 EPS for the next fiscal year.

KLA Trading Down 5.0 %

KLAC stock opened at $658.98 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $684.11 and its 200 day moving average is $591.25. KLA has a 12-month low of $355.88 and a 12-month high of $729.15. The stock has a market cap of $89.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 274 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,307 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 490 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on KLA in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James upped their price target on KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

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.