Whitebox Advisors LLC Raises Position in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO)

Whitebox Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,443,101 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 199,856 shares during the quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.41% of Bausch + Lomb worth $26,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,450 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter worth approximately $5,797,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter worth about $665,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the period. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 1.0 %

BLCO traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.47. 1,860,137 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 646,566. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $13.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.89. Bausch + Lomb Co. has a one year low of $10.45 and a one year high of $21.69. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.54.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The company's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on BLCO. Bank of America decreased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.14.

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.