River Road Asset Management LLC Has $33.07 Million Position in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO)

River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,938,207 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 343,772 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.55% of Bausch + Lomb worth $33,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLCO. UBS Group AG acquired a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter valued at $759,000. Northern Trust Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter valued at about $575,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter valued at about $5,641,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter valued at about $1,692,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter valued at about $373,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLCO traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $14.31. The stock had a trading volume of 342,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,686. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $15.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.80. Bausch + Lomb Co. has a 1-year low of $13.62 and a 1-year high of $21.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.07. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.27% and a positive return on equity of 3.70%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore lowered their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $16.50 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada set a $20.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.68.

Bausch + Lomb Profile

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.