Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

BKR has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $62.00) on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $60.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.14.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 5.8%

BKR opened at $57.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $57.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.05. Baker Hughes has a twelve month low of $38.37 and a twelve month high of $70.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.39%.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In related news, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 5,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total value of $326,751.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,027,327.34. This trade represents a 24.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total transaction of $10,599,844.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 703,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,102,232.92. The trade was a 20.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 367,910 shares of company stock worth $22,420,797 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter valued at $778,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,755,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,813,000 after purchasing an additional 309,996 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 5.4% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,147,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,234,000 after purchasing an additional 367,728 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at about $830,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 469,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,373,000 after purchasing an additional 104,428 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Baker Hughes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes secured substantial equipment and services awards for Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG expansion, including liquefaction equipment, gas turbines, and turbine upgrades. The awards add meaningful revenue visibility and reinforce demand for its LNG technology and services. Article: Baker Hughes Secures Substantial Equipment and Services Awards for Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG Facility
• Positive Sentiment: Kodiak Gas Services announced a multi-year gas turbine order agreement with Baker Hughes to support U.S. data center growth, with an initial award tied to about 1 GW of power generation capacity by 2030 and potential for up to 1.8 GW over time. That suggests strong medium-term demand for Baker Hughes’ power solutions. Article: Kodiak Gas Services, Baker Hughes Announce Multi-Year Gas Turbine Order Agreement to Support U.S. Data Center Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded Baker Hughes to “strong-buy,” reinforcing the constructive view on the stock after recent contract wins and business momentum. Article: Baker Hughes was upgraded by Wolfe Research to strong-buy
• Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna kept a positive rating while raising its price target to $70 from $80, and TD Cowen also boosted its price target, signaling analyst confidence in Baker Hughes’ outlook despite some target adjustments. Article: Baker Hughes had its price target lowered by Susquehanna from $80.00 to $70.00
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional articles referenced a facility closure and layoffs, but there was not enough detail in the provided headlines to gauge the financial impact on BKR.

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.