Baker Hughes’ (BKR) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $40.00 target price on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research lowered Baker Hughes from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Monday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $40.94.

Baker Hughes Trading Down 1.4 %

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

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Baker Hughes’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 2.56%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares in the company, valued at $508,132.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Baker Hughes news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,451 shares in the company, valued at $425,437.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $508,132.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 281.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the first quarter valued at about $397,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the first quarter valued at about $377,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 6.4% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 26.4% in the first quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 7,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.