Zacks Research Brokers Decrease Earnings Estimates for AMAT

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lowered their FY2027 earnings estimates for shares of Applied Materials in a report issued on Friday, January 17th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the manufacturing equipment provider will post earnings per share of $10.70 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $10.78. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials’ current full-year earnings is $9.37 per share.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.95.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.87 on Monday. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $156.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.22.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after buying an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after buying an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.