Capital One Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Stock

Key Points

• Capital One Financial raised its price target on Baker Hughes to $71 from $66 and kept an overweight rating, implying about 6.85% upside from the prior close.
• Several other analysts turned more bullish as well, including Stifel, Jefferies, Citigroup, and HSBC, with the stock now carrying an average Moderate Buy rating and a mean target of $69.41.
• Baker Hughes recently beat earnings expectations with quarterly EPS of $0.58 versus estimates of $0.49, though revenue came in slightly below forecasts at $6.59 billion.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Capital One Financial from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Capital One Financial's price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.85% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BKR. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zephirin Group lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Baker Hughes from $69.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.41.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKR traded down $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $66.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 757,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,319,538. Baker Hughes has a 12 month low of $35.83 and a 12 month high of $70.41. The firm has a market cap of $65.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.53 and a 200-day moving average of $55.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.13.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.17%.The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $16,025,801.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 866,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,938,242.76. This trade represents a 23.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 5,063 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.04, for a total value of $298,919.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $918,367.20. This trade represents a 24.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 550,250 shares of company stock valued at $32,988,331 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 1,242.5% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 537 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG bought a new position in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 92.06% of the stock is 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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