KLA (KLAC) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) will post its quarterly earnings results 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.Investors that wish to listen to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect KLA to post $23 EPS for the current fiscal year and $27 EPS for the next fiscal year.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $633.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $683.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $595.92. KLA has a one year low of $355.88 and a one year 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. KLA’s payout ratio is 29.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’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 transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% 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.