Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) saw a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,550,000 shares, a decline of 5.8% from the August 31st total of 18,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Baker Hughes from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 114,286 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $4,000,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 502,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,571,855. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,364,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $581,729,000 after purchasing an additional 4,207,973 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 7.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,898,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,074,000 after buying an additional 680,621 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,723,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,801,000 after acquiring an additional 692,859 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,274,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,005,000 after acquiring an additional 248,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,609,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,405,000 after acquiring an additional 612,715 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of Baker Hughes stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $36.38. 837,213 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,391,637. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.19 and a 200-day moving average of $33.87. Baker Hughes has a 1 year low of $28.32 and a 1 year high of $39.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.38.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 12.45%. Baker Hughes’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.93%.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.