Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Baxter International has a consensus “Hold” rating from 13 analysts: nine holds, two buys and two sells. The average 12-month price target is $22.45, below the reported share price of $23.50.
• Institutional ownership is substantial, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 90.19% of the stock; BlackRock and Pzena Investment Management each established positions exceeding $1 billion during the second quarter.
• Baxter beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.56 in earnings per share versus the $0.37 consensus and $2.96 billion in revenue, up 5.3% year over year. The company guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $1.95–$2.15 and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.45.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BAX shares. Zacks Research upgraded Baxter International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Baxter International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $1,744,874,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter valued at $1,392,098,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Baxter International by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $257,174,000 after buying an additional 972,891 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new position in Baxter International during the second quarter valued at $146,815,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth about $132,993,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $23.50 on Wednesday. Baxter International has a one year low of $15.73 and a one year high of $30.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.22 and a 200-day moving average of $21.20. The company has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a PE ratio of -11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.57% and a negative net margin of 9.27%.The company's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio is -1.93%.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets products used in hospitals, outpatient facilities and other care settings. Its portfolio includes intravenous solutions and administration sets, infusion pumps, parenteral nutrition products, injectable medicines, surgical products and systems for medication preparation and delivery.

The company also provides products and technologies that support anesthesia, critical care, patient monitoring and other hospital workflows.

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