Short Interest in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Drops By 15.0%

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,660,000 shares, a drop of 15.0% from the January 15th total of 3,130,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 1.8 %

KLA stock traded down $13.54 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $750.74. The stock had a trading volume of 998,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,191,620. The stock has a market cap of $99.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $697.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $714.23. KLA has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Research analysts predict that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

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.