HSBC Issues Positive Forecast for Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Stock Price

Key Points

• HSBC raised its price target on Baker Hughes to $85 (from $67) and maintained a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 22% upside from the prior close.
• Multiple brokers have also lifted targets recently and the stock has 19 Buy and 2 Hold ratings, giving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $67.27.
• Baker Hughes beat EPS estimates in the latest quarter ($0.58 vs. $0.49 expected) while revenue was slightly below forecasts at $6.59B; the stock trades near $69.64 with a market cap of about $68.8B and a PE of 22.31.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by HSBC from $67.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. HSBC's price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.05% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on BKR. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Capital One Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $60.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Sunday. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.27.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 1.0%

BKR stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $69.64. 1,401,535 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,632,242. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.13. Baker Hughes has a one year low of $34.56 and a one year high of $70.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.78.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 14.17%. The business had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In related news, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 19,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $1,131,956.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $862,296.68. This represents a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William G. Beattie sold 18,023 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total transaction of $1,032,537.67. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 590,251 shares of company stock valued at $35,311,023. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Baker Hughes

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 40.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 83,650 shares of the company's stock worth $3,676,000 after acquiring an additional 24,225 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 5.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 18,481 shares of the company's stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes in the second quarter worth about $2,301,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 4.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 46,407 shares of the company's stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes in the second quarter worth about $1,014,000. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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