FY2026 Earnings Estimate for KLA Issued By Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald has raised its FY2026 earnings estimate for KLA Corporation to $35.17 per share, up from a previous forecast of $34.78, maintaining an "Overweight" rating on the stock.
• KLA reported a 9.38 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.85, with revenue of $3.17 billion indicating a year-over-year growth of 23.6%.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.90 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders, with an annual yield of 0.9%.

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) - Research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald raised their FY2026 earnings estimates for KLA in a research note issued to investors on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Muse now forecasts that the semiconductor company will post earnings per share of $35.17 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $34.78. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Overweight" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for KLA's current full-year earnings is $31.59 per share.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.60 earnings per share.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $890.59.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $886.64 on Monday. KLA has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $945.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $875.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $769.31.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is 25.01%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth approximately $348,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 27.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,259,543,000 after acquiring an additional 404,634 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $187,212,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KLA

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.

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