Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus "Buy": 15 brokerages cover Agilent with a consensus "Buy" (11 buy, 2 strong buy, 2 hold) and an average 1‑year price target of $163.71.
• Q1 results and guidance: Agilent slightly missed estimates (EPS $1.36 vs. $1.37; revenue $1.80B vs. $1.81B), with revenue up 7% year‑over‑year, and management issued FY2026 EPS guidance of $5.90–$6.04 and Q2 guidance of $1.39–$1.42.
• Valuation, dividend and institutional activity: The stock has a $32.45B market cap and a P/E of 25.35, pays a quarterly dividend of $0.255 (annualized $1.02, ~0.9% yield), and several institutions modestly increased or initiated positions in Q1.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the fifteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $163.7143.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Evercore upgraded Agilent Technologies from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $157.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 4,570 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,960 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $243,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,091 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,004 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 3,151 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $114.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $116.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.59. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $104.10 and a 12 month high of $160.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The medical research company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.49% and a net margin of 18.26%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.040 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.390-1.420 EPS. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.52%.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, consumables, software and services for laboratories across the life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. The company's product portfolio includes analytical instruments such as liquid and gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, spectroscopy systems, and laboratory automation solutions, together with reagents, supplies and informatics tools that support measurement, testing and data analysis workflows. Agilent also offers instrument maintenance, qualification and laboratory services designed to help customers improve productivity and comply with regulatory requirements.

Founded as a corporate spin-off from Hewlett‑Packard in 1999, Agilent has evolved through a combination of strategic restructuring and acquisitions to concentrate on life sciences, diagnostics and applied laboratories.

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