Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

KEYS has been the subject of several other reports. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Keysight Technologies in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Keysight Technologies from $167.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays raised Keysight Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $158.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.89.

Keysight Technologies Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of KEYS traded down $4.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $149.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,226,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,195. Keysight Technologies has a twelve month low of $119.72 and a twelve month high of $166.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $155.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.92.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Keysight Technologies will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,632 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $254,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,960. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Keysight Technologies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Keysight Technologies by 0.6% in the second quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 2.8% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,754 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 15.9% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 548 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Keysight Technologies by 3.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,996 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified LLC boosted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.58% of the company’s stock.

About Keysight Technologies

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.