Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Baker Hughes from a “buy” to a “hold,” though the stock still carries a broader analyst consensus of Moderate Buy with a $70.00 average price target.
• Recent earnings were mixed: Baker Hughes reported Q1 EPS of $0.58, beating estimates of $0.49, but revenue of $6.59 billion came in below expectations of $6.71 billion.
• Insider and institutional activity was notable, with CEO Lorenzo Simonelli and CAO Rebecca L. Charlton both selling shares, while institutional investors continue to own 92.06% of the company.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BKR. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baker Hughes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR opened at $55.95 on Monday. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $38.97 and a 1-year high of $70.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.63. The company has a market capitalization of $55.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.96.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Baker Hughes's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of Baker Hughes 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,444 shares in the company, valued at $41,102,232.92. The trade was a 20.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 5,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total transaction of $326,751.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,027,327.34. The trade was a 24.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 367,910 shares of company stock valued at $22,420,797 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 100,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,419,000 after buying an additional 4,804 shares during the period. Tema ETFs LLC grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 10.7% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 25,450 shares of the company's stock worth $1,412,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 7.2% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 40,643 shares of the company's stock worth $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 2,729 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its position in Baker Hughes by 0.8% during the second quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 156,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS increased its position in Baker Hughes by 15.3% during the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 6,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company's stock.

About Baker Hughes

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.

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