KLA-Tencor (KLAC) closed at $126.05 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.21% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.11% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.04%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.19%.
Coming into today, shares of the maker of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors had gained 7.08% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 6.07%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.42%.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from KLAC as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be May 6, 2019. In that report, analysts expect KLAC to post earnings of $1.63 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 19.31%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $1.07 billion, up 5.1% from the prior-year quarter.
KLAC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $8.43 per share and revenue of $4.52 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +5.38% and +11.86%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for KLAC. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. KLAC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, KLAC is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.92. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.2, which means KLAC is trading at a discount to the group.
Meanwhile, KLAC's PEG ratio is currently 1.34. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.49 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 100, which puts it in the top 40% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC
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