Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Trading Down 5.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Baxter International shares fell 5.2% on Tuesday, trading as low as $21.16 amid lighter-than-normal volume, after closing at $22.57 the previous day.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” with a consensus price target of $19.73, even though some firms recently upgraded or lifted targets.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.36 versus $0.31 expected and revenue of $2.70 billion versus $2.62 billion expected, while also maintaining a very low dividend yield of 0.2%.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 5.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $21.16 and last traded at $21.4030. 702,263 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 8,458,267 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baxter International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup lowered Baxter International from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $19.73.

Baxter International Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of -10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.26.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.15% and a negative net margin of 9.70%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio is presently -1.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Baxter International by 3.2% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,436 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 2.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 649,463 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $19,666,000 after purchasing an additional 18,439 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Baxter International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $231,304,000 after buying an additional 97,687 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Baxter International by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 24,356 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 5.5% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,933 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 2,813 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company's stock.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company's primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter's offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.

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