In the latest trading session, KLA-Tencor (KLAC) closed at $93.29, marking a -1.72% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.63%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.43%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.04%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors had lost 6.34% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 7.79% and lagged the S&P 500's loss of 6.28% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from KLAC as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 24, 2019. On that day, KLAC is projected to report earnings of $2.20 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 11.68%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.07 billion, up 9.8% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.17 per share and revenue of $4.32 billion, which would represent changes of +14.63% and +7.14%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for KLAC should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.9% lower within the past month. KLAC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, KLAC is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.35. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 10.35, which means KLAC is trading at a no noticeable deviation to the group.
We can also see that KLAC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.44. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1 as of yesterday's close.
The Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 178, which puts it in the bottom 30% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC): Free Stock Analysis Report
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