Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised its price target on Baker Hughes to $72 (from $64) and kept an overweight rating, implying about a 6.5% upside, while several other banks also lifted targets leaving a consensus Moderate Buy and a $68.09 average price target.
• Baker Hughes beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.58 vs. $0.49) though revenue slightly missed ($6.59B vs. $6.71B); the company trades near $67.60 with a market cap of roughly $66.8B and a PE of 21.6.
• Insiders recently sold 590,251 shares worth about $35.3M in the last quarter, leaving company insiders with just 0.19% ownership.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $64.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler's price target suggests a potential upside of 6.51% from the stock's current price.

BKR has been the subject of several other research reports. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $69.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Sunday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Baker Hughes from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.09.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of BKR opened at $67.60 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $61.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.08. The firm has a market cap of $66.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.90. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $34.56 and a 12-month high of $70.41. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Baker Hughes's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In other news, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 1,985 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $110,703.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,052 shares in the company, valued at $672,140.04. This trade represents a 14.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 19,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total transaction of $1,131,956.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,588 shares in the company, valued at $862,296.68. The trade was a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 590,251 shares of company stock valued at $35,311,023. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in 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 last quarter. EFG International AG purchased a new position in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Baker Hughes by 344.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 104.0% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 92.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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