Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 26,659,190 shares, a decrease of 26.3% from the January 15th total of 36,152,005 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 11,787,184 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 11,787,184 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.34, for a total transaction of $47,494.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,830.46. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 19,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $1,131,956.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,296.68. This trade represents a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,001 shares of company stock worth $2,322,692. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Baker Hughes

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 1,005.1% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 49,353,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,247,550,000 after acquiring an additional 44,887,481 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Baker Hughes in the second quarter worth approximately $862,722,000. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the third quarter valued at $729,670,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 12,983.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,491,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,994,000 after acquiring an additional 3,464,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 76.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,419,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,446,000 after acquiring an additional 3,203,942 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of BKR stock traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $61.20. 8,143,577 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,561,952. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.17 and its 200 day moving average is $48.31. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $33.60 and a 1-year high of $62.27. The company has a market capitalization of $60.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.11. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $7.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is currently 35.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BKR. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zephirin Group upped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. HSBC lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.78.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that provides a broad portfolio of products, services and digital solutions for the oil and gas and industrial markets. Its offerings span oilfield services and equipment — including drilling, evaluation, completion and production technologies — as well as turbomachinery, compressors and related process equipment used in midstream and downstream operations. The company also supplies aftermarket services, field support and integrated solutions designed to improve asset performance and uptime across the energy value chain.

The firm’s roots trace back to the merger of Baker International and Hughes Tool Company, and more recently it combined with GE’s oil and gas business in 2017 to form Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE); subsequent changes in ownership restored Baker Hughes as an independent publicly traded company.