Good quarter for Keysight

Article Excerpt

KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $160 remains a buy for aggressive investors. The company (New York symbol KEYS; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 172.9 million; Market cap: $27.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.0; No dividend paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.keysight.com) makes an array of devices for testing electronic equipment. Thanks to better demand from clients in the telecommunications, aerospace and defence industries, the company’s revenue in its fiscal 2025 first quarter, ended January 31, 2025, rose 3.1%, to $1.30 billion from $1.26 billion a year earlier. Earnings before unusual items also improved 10.8%, to $317 million from $286 million; per-share earnings gained 11.7%, to $1.82 from $1.63, on fewer shares outstanding. Keysight’s earnings will probably rise about 12% for all of fiscal 2025 to $7.00 a share and the stock trades at 22.9 times that forecast. That’s a reasonable multiple as Keysight spends a high 19% of its revenue on research. The company will also benefit from its upcoming acquisition of U.K.-based Spirent Communications PLC for $1.46…