Keysight Technologies Inc. $KEYS Stake Increased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group increased its Keysight stake by 358.8% in the third quarter, adding 96,789 shares to hold 123,761 shares valued at about $45.1 million.
• Keysight reported quarterly EPS of $3.07, beating the $2.48 consensus, while revenue rose 36.5% year over year to $1.85 billion.
• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $401.42; Morgan Stanley and Barclays recently raised their targets to $425 and $429, respectively.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 358.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,761 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 96,789 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Keysight Technologies worth $45,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Railway Pension Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Keysight Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,099,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Keysight Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $2,316,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Keysight Technologies during the second quarter worth about $157,137,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 54.8% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,798 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 3.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 382,082 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 12,508 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Keysight Technologies

In other Keysight Technologies news, Director Jean Mcclung Nye sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.22, for a total value of $957,660.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,412,753.44. This represents a 7.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Lisa M. Poole sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.01, for a total value of $69,602.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,134,693.34. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 12,200 shares of company stock worth $4,082,752 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of KEYS stock opened at $305.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The company's fifty day moving average price is $335.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $318.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.19. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.23 and a 12 month high of $389.93.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.59. Keysight Technologies had a return on equity of 24.34% and a net margin of 19.08%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. Keysight Technologies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.340-3.400 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 11.460-11.460 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KEYS. Wall Street Zen lowered Keysight Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Keysight Technologies from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Keysight Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Keysight Technologies from $387.00 to $429.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Keysight Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $401.42.

About Keysight Technologies

Keysight Technologies, Inc. develops electronic design, test and measurement solutions used to design, validate and monitor electronic systems. Its offerings include instruments, software and services that help customers evaluate the performance and reliability of products and networks. The company serves industries including communications, aerospace and defense, automotive, semiconductor and general electronics. Its solutions support work ranging from chip and device development to testing wireless networks, data centers and connected systems.

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