Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Stock

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) had its price objective raised by Piper Sandler from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

BKR has been the subject of several other research reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.18.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR opened at $48.85 on Monday. Baker Hughes has a 1 year low of $28.63 and a 1 year high of $48.94. The company has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 14.58%. Analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.19%.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In related news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total value of $358,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 173,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,730.54. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Baker Hughes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Baker Hughes by 135.9% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Baker Hughes by 2,181.6% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 1,045.1% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 889,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 811,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 442.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

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.