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

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Baker Hughes in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.81.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Baker Hughes stock opened at $56.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $56.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Baker Hughes has a 1 year low of $43.92 and a 1 year high of $70.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.33.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $10,599,844.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,102,232.92. This trade represents a 20.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BKR. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 121.4% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 344.1% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Baker Hughes during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 49.0% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides products, services and digital solutions for the energy and industrial sectors. Its offerings support the exploration, development, production, transportation and processing of oil and natural gas, as well as broader energy and industrial operations.

The company’s portfolio includes oilfield services and equipment, drilling and completion technologies, artificial lift systems, subsea production solutions, turbomachinery, compressors, gas technology and liquefied natural gas equipment.