Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $59.23 and last traded at $58.7310, with a volume of 466915 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Baker Hughes

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on BKR, reinforcing institutional conviction and supporting demand for the shares. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokers raised price targets (examples: BMO to $65, Barclays to $57) and an updated $60.20 target was reported — analyst target increases can lift near?term sentiment and trading. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes signed a non?exclusive MoU with Maire/TECNIMONT to explore modular, scalable LNG projects using its NMBL™ solution — a potential pipeline for future equipment and services revenue. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus is bullish: the company has many Buy ratings (20 Buy, 2 Hold) and an average price target ~ $58.30, which supports the stock’s momentum. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat expectations (Q report: $0.78 EPS vs $0.67 est; revenue $7.39B vs $7.09B), giving fundamental backing to the rally. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest entries in the feed show anomalous 0 shares / 0 days-to-cover figures (NaN/inconsistent); the data appear unreliable and offer little actionable signal today.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces highlighting a ~23% five?year CAGR for shareholders provide long?term performance context but are not a direct near?term catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold a total of ~2,828 shares across Feb. 2–3 (transactions at ~$55.77–$56.34). Size is small relative to market cap but may be viewed negatively by some investors; SEC filing available. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BKR. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.30.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $58.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.45.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, January 25th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.09 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 14.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In other news, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 1,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total transaction of $110,703.45. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,140.04. This represents a 14.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs grew its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 138,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,292,000 after buying an additional 8,115 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new position in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,266,000. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $416,000. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at $408,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

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.