Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) Rating Increased to Overweight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $180.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $158.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on KEYS. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Keysight Technologies from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $167.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Vertical Research started coverage on Keysight Technologies in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.89.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KEYS opened at $161.85 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $28.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.98. Keysight Technologies has a 12 month low of $119.72 and a 12 month high of $162.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $153.82 and a 200-day moving average of $145.32.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Keysight Technologies will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,632 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $254,592.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 42,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,960. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Keysight Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 7.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,421,264 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $702,671,000 after acquiring an additional 292,372 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 352.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,160,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $494,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,462,543 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Keysight Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $250,097,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Keysight Technologies by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,378,723 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $188,540,000 after purchasing an additional 79,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Keysight Technologies by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,141,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $178,473,000 after purchasing an additional 42,126 shares during the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Keysight Technologies Company Profile

Keysight Technologies, Inc provides electronic design and test solutions to commercial communications, networking, aerospace, defense and government, automotive, energy, semiconductor, electronic, and education industries in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Communications Solutions Group and Electronic Industrial Solutions Group.