Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 13,398 Shares of Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) by 144.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,680 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,398 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 5.9% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 7.6% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 17,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Retireful LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,092,000. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Baker Hughes by 425.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 18,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 14,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Baker Hughes by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 42,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 13,757 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Baker Hughes stock opened at $49.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.89. Baker Hughes Company has a 1 year low of $33.60 and a 1 year high of $51.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.48.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 18th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.92.

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.