Benchmark Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 price objective on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded Baker Hughes from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Baker Hughes from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $40.94.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of BKR stock opened at $32.84 on Wednesday. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $26.81 and a 1-year high of $37.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $32.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.54.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 6.95%. The business had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Baker Hughes’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,132.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total transaction of $294,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,437.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total value of $169,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,132.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $551,555,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,078,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316,638 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,816,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,729,000 after acquiring an additional 379,385 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,445,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,627,000 after acquiring an additional 745,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,669,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,395,083 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.