Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Baker Hughes to “strong buy” from “hold.” Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $71.81.
• Baker Hughes exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.64 in EPS versus the $0.51 estimate and $6.74 billion in revenue, up 2.4% year over year.
• The stock opened at $56.56, below its $71.81 consensus target, while institutional investors own 92.06% of shares. CEO Lorenzo Simonelli recently sold 181,411 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

BKR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Baker Hughes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on Baker Hughes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.81.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKR opened at $56.56 on Wednesday. Baker Hughes has a twelve month low of $43.92 and a twelve month high of $70.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.33. The company has a market capitalization of $56.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.13. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Baker Hughes's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In related news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $10,599,844.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,102,232.92. The trade was a 20.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 121.4% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 476 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings 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 period. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes in the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 49.0% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 651 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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 energy and industrial sectors. Its offerings support the exploration, development, production, transportation and processing of oil and natural gas, as well as broader energy and industrial operations.

The company's portfolio includes oilfield services and equipment, drilling and completion technologies, artificial lift systems, subsea production solutions, turbomachinery, compressors, gas technology and liquefied natural gas equipment.

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