KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.32 EPS

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32, Briefing.com reports. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA updated its Q4 guidance to $5.47-6.67 EPS and its Q4 2024 guidance to 5.470-6.670 EPS.

KLA Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $32.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $705.88. The stock had a trading volume of 448,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 952,861. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $684.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $598.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $95.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.65, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.34. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $369.00 and a fifty-two week high of $729.15.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $703.42.

Insider Activity

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 completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.