Evercore Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Stock

Key Points

• Evercore raised its price target on Baker Hughes to $76 from $68 (about a 10.2% upside), while other firms have also lifted targets; MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $62.23.
• Baker Hughes beat Q1 EPS ($0.58 vs. $0.49), reported record IET orders and portfolio actions that boost forward revenue visibility, and declared a $0.23 quarterly dividend—factors analysts say support stronger demand and the stock rally.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently (insiders sold 590,251 shares in the last 90 days, including CEO Lorenzo Simonelli's sale of 272,594 shares), which some investors view as a potential governance or timing concern despite heavy institutional ownership (~92%).

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Evercore from $68.00 to $76.00 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Evercore's target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.24% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. iA Financial set a $60.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Johnson Rice initiated coverage on Baker Hughes in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Capital One Financial upped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.23.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of BKR stock opened at $68.94 on Friday. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $34.56 and a 12-month high of $69.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.38%. The business had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 843 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.34, for a total value of $47,494.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,830.46. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $16,025,801.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 866,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,938,242.76. The trade was a 23.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 590,251 shares of company stock worth $35,311,023. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Baker Hughes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,920,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Baker Hughes by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,755,743 shares of the company's stock worth $125,813,000 after purchasing an additional 309,996 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Baker Hughes by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,147,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,234,000 after acquiring an additional 367,728 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 829,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,429,000 after acquiring an additional 99,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,890,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,035,924,000 after purchasing an additional 598,159 shares in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Baker Hughes News

Here are the key news stories impacting Baker Hughes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations and showed profit strength, supporting the rally; analysts and reports highlighted upside to EPS and better‑than‑expected margins. Baker Hughes beats first-quarter profit boosted by industrial, energy tech demand
• Positive Sentiment: Record IET orders/backlog and portfolio actions increased forward revenue visibility and cash proceeds (JV and asset sales cited by management), which investors interpreted as materially de‑risking growth and improving liquidity. Baker Hughes jumps as Q1 results highlight record IET orders and a stronger balance sheet after portfolio moves
• Positive Sentiment: Near‑term oil supply disruption (Strait of Hormuz) is expected to keep global supplies tighter, prompting major oilfield services firms including Baker Hughes to forecast higher E&P spending — a tailwind for equipment and services demand. SLB, Baker Hughes see oil exploration spending rising as Iran war disrupts supply
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.23 per share, which supports income‑oriented investor interest. Baker Hughes Declares Quarterly Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q1 presentation and earnings call transcript are available for detail; these provide color on segment results, backlog and management guidance. BKR Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Q1 Results Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting appears anomalous (reported as zero in the data snapshot) and is not providing a clear signal today.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling has been reported in recent months, which some investors view as a governance/timing concern; also some reports flag mixed cash‑flow trends and rising liabilities that merit watching. Baker Hughes Releases Q1 2026 Earnings: Revenue and EPS Beat, Net Income Rebound

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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