Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Price Target Raised to $74.00

Key Points

• Baker Hughes had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $63 to $74 with a "buy" rating (implying ~7.3% upside), and several other firms also lifted targets — the consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $63.55 price target.
• The company beat EPS expectations ($0.58 vs. $0.49) but missed revenue estimates ($6.59B vs. $6.71B); shares trade around $68.94, near a 12‑month high of $69.86, with a market cap of about $68.1B.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently: CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares (~$16M) and insiders sold 590,251 shares (~$35.3M) over the last 90 days, leaving insiders owning just 0.19% of the company.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $63.00 to $74.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price suggests a potential upside of 7.34% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BKR. Evercore lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $68.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Friday. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.55.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of BKR opened at $68.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $68.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.90. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $34.56 and a 12-month high of $69.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $61.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.17%.Baker Hughes's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $16,025,801.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 866,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,938,242.76. This trade represents a 23.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 5,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.04, for a total value of $298,919.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,555 shares in the company, valued at $918,367.20. This represents a 24.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 590,251 shares of company stock worth $35,311,023 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 1,242.5% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 537 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in Baker Hughes by 344.1% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Baker Hughes by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. 92.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

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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