Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Issues Q1 Earnings Guidance

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) updated its first quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.11-$2.47 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $2.30. The company issued revenue guidance of $6.75-$7.55 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $7.17 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.48.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $181.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $187.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $203.83. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $144.57 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.