Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Trading Down 6.1% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Baker Hughes shares fell 6.1% on Wednesday, trading as low as $62.78 after closing at $66.73, with volume well below average.
• Despite the drop, analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 18 analysts rate the stock a Buy, and the average price target is $69.41, with several firms recently raising targets to as high as $80.
• The company posted better-than-expected EPS of $0.58 in its latest quarter, though revenue came in slightly below estimates; Baker Hughes also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share.

Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 6.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $62.78 and last traded at $62.6910. Approximately 1,117,171 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 9,271,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on BKR shares. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $62.00) on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note 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 stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.41.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $63.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.13. The business's 50 day moving average is $63.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.51.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Baker Hughes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.39%.

Insider Activity

In other Baker Hughes news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $16,025,801.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 866,444 shares in the company, valued at $50,938,242.76. This represents a 23.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 5,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.04, for a total transaction of $298,919.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,555 shares in the company, valued at $918,367.20. This represents a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 550,250 shares of company stock worth $32,988,331. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKR. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 1,242.5% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 537 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. EFG International AG acquired a new position in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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