Short Interest in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Rises By 21.6%

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,810,000 shares, an increase of 21.6% from the October 31st total of 2,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on KLAC. UBS Group dropped their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $815.55.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $14.89 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $647.03. 925,673 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 971,703. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $699.34 and its 200 day moving average is $757.79. The stock has a market cap of $86.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. KLA has a 1-year low of $527.11 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of KLA by 82.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

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.