Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Baxter International Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from ten brokerage firms, with one sell rating, six hold ratings, and three buy ratings.
• The average 12-month target price for Baxter's stock is currently $30.11, reflecting a range of analyst adjustments to their forecasts.
• The company's stock is down 2.8%, with recent earnings showing a slight miss on EPS and revenue compared to analyst estimates, prompting cautious outlooks from various analysts.

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.1111.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on Baxter International from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Baxter International from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Baxter International from $33.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st.

Baxter International Stock Down 2.8%

BAX stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.03. 13,671,637 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,815,892. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $24.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.96. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $21.33 and a 52 week high of $39.57. The company has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.61.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Baxter International had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 16.96%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.580-0.620 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.420-2.520 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio is presently -226.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. Dodge & Cox grew its position in Baxter International by 2.1% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 51,458,925 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,761,439,000 after buying an additional 1,081,631 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in Baxter International by 52.5% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,327,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,456,000 after buying an additional 457,345 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Baxter International by 11,821.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 387,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $13,271,000 after buying an additional 384,437 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT grew its position in Baxter International by 13.7% during the first quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 2,825,902 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $96,731,000 after buying an additional 341,321 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Baxter International by 2.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,882,960 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $388,416,000 after buying an additional 326,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company's stock.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories.