Brokerages Set Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) PT at $19.91

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.7273.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BAX. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Baxter International from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Baxter International by 14.4% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Baxter International by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Baxter International by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 46,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Price Performance

BAX stock opened at $18.78 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.77. Baxter International has a 1 year low of $15.73 and a 1 year high of $32.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of -8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.88%.

Baxter International Company Profile

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.