Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Issues Q1 Earnings Guidance

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.11-$2.47 for the period, compared to the consensus 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.48.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $183.26 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.52. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $144.57 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date 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.