Evercore ISI Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target decreased by Evercore ISI from $260.00 to $250.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AMAT. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. B. Riley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $170.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $140.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.52 earnings per share 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Applied Materials

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.