Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $5.44-$5.55 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.41. The company issued revenue guidance of $6.71 billion-$6.81 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $6.82 billion. Agilent Technologies also updated its FY24 guidance to $5.44-5.55 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on A. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $146.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $163.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $143.94.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $113.98 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $109.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.04. Agilent Technologies has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $160.26.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 20th. The medical research company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.236 dividend. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 29th. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.78, for a total transaction of $415,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,219 shares in the company, valued at $2,876,732.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 94.6% during the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $61,000. 85.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.