Analysts Set Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) Price Target at $49.50

Key Points

• Baker Hughes has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average 12-month target price set at $49.50.
• Recently, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold over 526,000 shares of the company, reducing his stake by 44.10%.
• Baker Hughes declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, reflecting a 2.00% yield for shareholders as of August 5th.

Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.50.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BKR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 526,568 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total transaction of $23,390,150.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 667,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,654,481.06. This trade represents a 44.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BKR. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 678.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 693 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 76.2% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 740 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Baker Hughes by 132.9% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 815 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

BKR stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.05. 5,858,210 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,074,655. Baker Hughes has a twelve month low of $32.25 and a twelve month high of $49.40. The company has a market capitalization of $45.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.08. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 11.04%. The business had revenue of $6.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. Baker Hughes's payout ratio is 30.07%.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.