Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.7273.

BAX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Baxter International from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Baxter International from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $18.59 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.78 and a 200-day moving average of $18.78. The stock has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a PE ratio of -8.73, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.64. Baxter International has a 52-week low of $15.73 and a 52-week high of $32.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.70% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. Baxter International’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is -1.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Baxter International by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Baxter International by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Baxter International by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in Baxter International by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its position in Baxter International by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 46,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

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.