Analysts Set Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Target Price at $15.50

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BLCO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $15.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 22,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.28 per share, for a total transaction of $248,160.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 719,156 shares in the company, valued at $8,112,079.68. The trade was a 3.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLCO. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 1st quarter worth about $50,750,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 3,008,193 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,328,000 after purchasing an additional 796,400 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,122,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,218,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,996,000 after purchasing an additional 414,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Street Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 55.2% during the 4th quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,136,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,522,000 after purchasing an additional 404,256 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Bausch + Lomb stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.69. 447,344 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 676,721. The company's fifty day moving average is $11.92 and its 200-day moving average is $15.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of -12.85, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.56. Bausch + Lomb has a 52 week low of $10.45 and a 52 week high of $21.69.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.35% and a negative net margin of 6.62%. Bausch + Lomb's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.