Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Short Interest Up 19.8% in February

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 42,637,728 shares, an increase of 19.8% from the January 29th total of 35,589,146 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,378,134 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 8.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 8.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 12,378,134 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BAX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Baxter International by 169.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 984 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 8.7% in the second quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 93,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 2.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,882,960 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $388,416,000 after purchasing an additional 326,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in Baxter International by 4.9% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 77,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,588 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Performance

BAX opened at $18.58 on Friday. Baxter International has a 1-year low of $17.40 and a 1-year high of $37.74. The company has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.04, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). Baxter International had a negative net margin of 8.51% and a positive return on equity of 16.95%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is -2.16%.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.