Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.18.

Several research analysts have recently commented on BKR shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Baker Hughes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Baker Hughes Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Baker Hughes stock opened at $43.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $42.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.95. Baker Hughes has a 1 year low of $28.32 and a 1 year high of $45.17.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Baker Hughes by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 10,920,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811,940 shares in the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,296,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 18.6% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,486,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,326,000 after buying an additional 860,219 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Baker Hughes by 436.0% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,004,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,318,000 after buying an additional 817,227 shares during the period. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 1,045.1% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 889,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 811,711 shares in 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.