Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.0909.

Several brokerages have weighed in on BKR. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $55.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

Insider Activity

In other Baker Hughes news, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 19,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $1,131,956.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,296.68. This trade represents a 56.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $16,025,801.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 866,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,938,242.76. This represents a 23.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 590,251 shares of company stock valued at $35,311,023 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKR. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 1,242.5% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 344.1% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Baker Hughes by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 92.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of Baker Hughes stock opened at $69.67 on Friday. Baker Hughes has a twelve month low of $35.10 and a twelve month high of $70.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.90.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.39%.

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.