Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Lowered to “Equal Weight” Rating by Barclays

Barclays lowered shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. Barclays currently has $74.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Baker Hughes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Baker Hughes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.18.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 1.3%

BKR stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $64.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,721,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,530,238. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $63.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.97. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $35.83 and a 12-month high of $70.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.17%.The business had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 19,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $1,131,956.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,296.68. The trade was a 56.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $16,025,801.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 866,444 shares in the company, valued at $50,938,242.76. This trade represents a 23.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 569,400 shares of company stock worth $34,120,287. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Baker Hughes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Baker Hughes by 1,242.5% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 344.1% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in Baker Hughes by 104.0% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Baker Hughes

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.