Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Stock Rated "Reduce" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts collectively rate Baxter International “Reduce.” Of 14 firms covering the stock, three recommend selling, 10 recommend holding and one recommends buying; the average 12-month price target is $21.73.
• Baxter’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $0.56 per share versus a $0.37 consensus estimate and revenue of $2.96 billion versus $2.80 billion expected. Analysts project about $2.04 in EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.01, equivalent to a 0.2% yield, while institutional investors own approximately 90.19% of outstanding shares.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.73.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BAX. Weiss Ratings downgraded Baxter International from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Baxter International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Baxter International Price Performance

BAX stock opened at $25.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.15. Baxter International has a 52-week low of $15.73 and a 52-week high of $30.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.23, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.65.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.57% and a negative net margin of 9.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth $1,744,874,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the second quarter valued at $1,392,098,000. Equity Investment Corp bought a new position in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at about $146,815,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at about $132,993,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Baxter International in the second quarter worth about $68,036,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global medical products and healthcare technology company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. The company develops, manufactures and distributes products used in hospitals, clinics, ambulatory care centers and other healthcare settings.

Baxter's portfolio has included intravenous therapies and administration systems, infusion pumps, connected-care technologies, surgical products, patient monitoring equipment and products used in medication preparation and delivery.

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