KLA (KLAC) Competitors

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, community ranking, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Which has more volatility and risk, KLAC or AMAT?

KLA has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Materials has a beta of 1.52, indicating that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is KLAC or AMAT a better dividend stock?

KLA pays an annual dividend of $6.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Applied Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA pays out 31.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Applied Materials pays out 18.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. KLA has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. KLA is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts recommend KLAC or AMAT?

KLA currently has a consensus price target of $815.55, indicating a potential upside of 22.94%. Applied Materials has a consensus price target of $221.48, indicating a potential upside of 22.01%. Given KLA's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe KLA is more favorable than Applied Materials.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KLA	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Applied Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, KLAC or AMAT?

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than KLA. Applied Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than KLA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KLA	$9.81B	9.04	$2.76B	$21.90	30.29
Applied Materials	$27.18B	5.51	$7.18B	$8.61	21.08

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in KLAC or AMAT?

Applied Materials received 1123 more outperform votes than KLA when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 71.99% of users gave Applied Materials an outperform vote while only 62.26% of users gave KLA an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
KLA	Outperform Votes 792 62.26%	Underperform Votes 480 37.74%
Applied Materials	Outperform Votes 1915 71.99%	Underperform Votes 745 28.01%

Is KLAC or AMAT more profitable?

KLA has a net margin of 28.92% compared to Applied Materials' net margin of 26.41%. KLA's return on equity of 105.16% beat Applied Materials' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KLA	28.92%	105.16%	22.77%
Applied Materials	26.41%	39.26%	21.92%

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in KLAC or AMAT?

86.7% of KLA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.6% of Applied Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of KLA shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Applied Materials shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor KLAC or AMAT?

In the previous week, Applied Materials had 30 more articles in the media than KLA. MarketBeat recorded 53 mentions for Applied Materials and 23 mentions for KLA. KLA's average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat Applied Materials' score of 1.25 indicating that KLA is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
KLA	19 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Applied Materials	34 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

KLA beats Applied Materials on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.