Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Makes New Investment in Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management opened a new position in Baker Hughes during the first quarter, buying 726,095 shares valued at about $44.3 million.
• Baker Hughes reported better-than-expected EPS of $0.58 for the quarter, though revenue of $6.59 billion came in slightly below estimates; quarterly revenue still rose 2.5% year over year.
• Management and analysts remain active: CEO Lorenzo Simonelli and CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold shares, while Wall Street’s consensus is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $69.14.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 726,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,328,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 0.07% of Baker Hughes at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. EFG International AG bought a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in Baker Hughes by 344.1% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of BKR stock opened at $58.41 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.02 and a 200-day moving average of $58.31. The company has a market cap of $57.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Baker Hughes Company has a 52 week low of $37.38 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. Baker Hughes's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Baker Hughes's payout ratio is 29.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.36, for a total transaction of $11,494,200.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 784,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,734,051.84. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 5,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total transaction of $326,751.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,327.34. This trade 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. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKR has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Baker Hughes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $62.00) on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.14.

Baker Hughes Profile

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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