Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.59.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BKR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of BKR opened at $35.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.38. Baker Hughes has a twelve month low of $28.32 and a twelve month high of $39.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.57 and a 200 day moving average of $34.33.

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

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 114,286 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 502,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,571,855. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Baker Hughes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Baker Hughes during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Alta Advisers Ltd bought a new position in Baker Hughes during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the second quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

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.