Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark's price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.44% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on BKR. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.94.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,445,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,770,856. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.82 and a 200-day moving average of $32.55. Baker Hughes has a 12 month low of $26.81 and a 12 month high of $37.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $32.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.42.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Baker Hughes

In other news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,998 shares in the company, valued at $508,132.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total transaction of $294,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $425,437.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total value of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at $508,132.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $551,555,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Baker Hughes by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,078,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,881,000 after buying an additional 2,316,638 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,816,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $346,729,000 after purchasing an additional 379,385 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,445,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,627,000 after purchasing an additional 745,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,669,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,395,083 shares during the period. 92.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.