Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Stock Rating Raised to "Hold" at Freedom Broker

Key Points

• Freedom Broker upgraded Baker Hughes from “sell” to “hold” and raised its price target from $51 to $52, implying 5.85% downside from the prior close.
• Despite the cautious rating, broader analyst sentiment remains positive: Baker Hughes has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $70.27.
• Baker Hughes exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.70 EPS versus $0.61 expected and $8.03 billion in revenue versus $7.74 billion estimated; revenue increased 14.5% year over year.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Broker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $52.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $51.00. Freedom Broker's price target would suggest a potential downside of 5.85% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on BKR. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $72.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.27.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Baker Hughes stock opened at $55.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $44.26 and a 1-year high of $70.41. The company has a market cap of $54.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.05.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 10.08%. The firm had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Baker Hughes's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amundi lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,946,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,282,000 after buying an additional 2,409,978 shares in the last quarter. Advent International L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the first quarter valued at $72,309,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Baker Hughes by 1,289.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,210,521 shares of the company's stock worth $72,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,391 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in Baker Hughes by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 3,958,604 shares of the company's stock worth $217,327,000 after purchasing an additional 765,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Baker Hughes in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,380,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

Baker Hughes Company NASDAQ: BKR is an energy technology company that provides products, services and digital solutions for the oil and gas industry and other energy-related markets. Its offerings support the exploration, drilling, completion, production and maintenance of energy assets across the lifecycle of a project.

The company's oilfield services and equipment business provides technologies such as drilling systems, well completions, artificial lift, subsea equipment, production chemicals and well intervention services.

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