Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Receives “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $40.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Baker Hughes from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $40.94.

Baker Hughes Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ BKR opened at $32.67 on Wednesday. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $26.81 and a 1-year high of $37.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.55.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Baker Hughes’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is presently 43.98%.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In related news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total value of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,998 shares in the company, valued at $508,132.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total value of $294,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,437.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,132.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its position in Baker Hughes by 0.5% in the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 55,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Baker Hughes by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC raised its position in Baker Hughes by 44.0% in the third quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in Baker Hughes by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 6,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in Baker Hughes by 8.2% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

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.