Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Forecast for BAX Earnings

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2027 earnings estimates for shares of Baxter International in a report issued on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $0.71 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.70. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Baxter International’s current full-year earnings is $2.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Baxter International’s FY2027 earnings at $2.50 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BAX. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Baxter International from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Argus downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Baxter International from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $21.40.

Baxter International Price Performance

BAX stock opened at $20.07 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.18. Baxter International has a 12-month low of $17.40 and a 12-month high of $37.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of -30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.59.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.09. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 17.38% and a negative net margin of 3.09%.The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Baxter International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.520-0.570 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.350-2.400 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Baxter International by 24.6% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 159,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,816,000 after buying an additional 2,226 shares during the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Baxter International by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,392 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,395 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in Baxter International by 1.8% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 183,276 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,576,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 82.2% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is -6.06%.

Key Headlines Impacting Baxter International

Here are the key news stories impacting Baxter International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks slightly raised its Q3 2027 EPS estimate to $0.71 from $0.70, a tiny upward tweak but with limited offsetting impact because Zacks still carries a “Strong Sell” view.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also nudged FY2027 EPS to $2.50 from $2.49 — again a marginal improvement to estimates but not enough to change the analyst stance.
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch notes BAX has shown daily gains but is underperforming competitors, highlighting mixed short‑term price action versus peer group performance. Baxter underperforms despite gains
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded Baxter from a “Hold” to a “Strong Sell,” a material change in analyst tone that typically weighs on the stock. Read more on Zacks. Zacks downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed its Q4 2027 EPS forecast to $0.62 from $0.63, and cut Q3 2026 EPS to $0.59 from $0.60 — multiple small downgrades that lower near-term earnings expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks reduced FY2026 EPS to $2.17 from $2.18, contributing to downward revision momentum across short- and medium-term guidance assumptions.
• Negative Sentiment: Brokerage consensus moved toward a “Reduce” rating on BAX (average broker recommendation reported as “Reduce”), reinforcing negative market sentiment and likely pressuring the stock. Brokerages recommend Reduce

About Baxter International

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.