Saudi Central Bank Boosts Holdings in Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Saudi Central Bank increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) by 90.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,423 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,000 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $3,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 344.1% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKR opened at $63.50 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $59.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.96. Baker Hughes Company has a 1-year low of $43.92 and a 1-year high of $70.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its earnings results on Sunday, July 26th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 11.17%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Baker Hughes in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $51.00 target price on Baker Hughes in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Baker Hughes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.67.

Insider Transactions at Baker Hughes

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 703,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,102,232.92. This trade represents a 20.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.