Orange Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 22,873 Shares of Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Key Points

• Orange Investment Advisors cut its Baker Hughes stake by 22.3% in the first quarter, selling 22,873 shares and leaving it with 79,680 shares valued at about $4.86 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with CEO Lorenzo Simonelli selling 181,411 shares and CAO Rebecca L. Charlton selling 5,088 shares; insiders sold 367,910 shares over the last quarter overall.
• Analysts remain mostly constructive on Baker Hughes, with 18 Buy ratings and 4 Holds and an average price target of $69.14, while the company also beat EPS expectations in its latest quarterly report and continues paying a quarterly dividend.

Orange Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) by 22.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,680 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,873 shares during the period. Orange Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $4,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 97.3% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 92,026 shares of the company's stock worth $5,618,000 after purchasing an additional 45,385 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. now owns 679,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,625,000 after purchasing an additional 41,657 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 150.1% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 147,198 shares of the company's stock worth $8,986,000 after buying an additional 88,336 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the 1st quarter worth approximately $893,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $224,000. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Baker Hughes

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $10,599,844.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 703,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,102,232.92. This trade represents a 20.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 5,088 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total transaction of $326,751.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 15,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,027,327.34. This represents a 24.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 367,910 shares of company stock valued at $22,420,797. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Baker Hughes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.14.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKR opened at $56.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $56.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.13. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $63.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.59. Baker Hughes Company has a 52-week low of $37.67 and a 52-week high of $70.41.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.71 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.17%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Baker Hughes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.39%.

Key Stories Impacting Baker Hughes

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

• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes won a new award to supply subsea production systems for Azule Energy’s Greater PAJ development in Angola, adding to its backlog and reinforcing demand for its offshore oilfield equipment and services. Article: Baker Hughes to Deliver Subsea Production Systems to Support Azule Energy's Greater PAJ Development
• Positive Sentiment: The company also signed a deal with Mantle Reach Power to deliver up to 500 MW of geothermal capacity in North America, highlighting growth in Baker Hughes’ energy-transition business as electricity demand rises from AI and data centers. Article: Baker Hughes, Mantle Reach sign deal for 500 MW geothermal power in North America
• Positive Sentiment: Higher U.S. rig additions this week suggest improving activity in the North American energy market, which could support future demand for Baker Hughes’ drilling, completion, and equipment services. Article: US energy firms add most rigs in a week since June 2022, Baker Hughes says
• Neutral Sentiment: Baker Hughes announced it will report second-quarter results on July 26 and host a webcast on July 27, setting up the next major catalyst for the stock. Article: Baker Hughes Announces Dates for Second-Quarter Earnings Release and Webcast
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Baker Hughes’ valuation and offshore-demand exposure may be helping investors frame the pullback, but it does not appear to be a direct operational catalyst. Article: Why Does Baker Hughes (NASDAQ) Benefit From Offshore Demand?
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, which can weigh on sentiment even if the sale was not unusual or discretionary. Article: Baker Hughes NASDAQ: BKR CEO Lorenzo Simonelli Sells 181,411 Shares

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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