UBS Group Increases Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Price Target to $73.00

Key Points

• UBS raised its price target on Baker Hughes to $73.00 from $69.00 while maintaining a "neutral" rating, implying about a 4.82% upside from the prior close.
• The analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with 19 Buy and 2 Hold ratings and a consensus target of $67.27, showing mixed views among brokers.
• Baker Hughes reported Q results with an EPS beat ($0.58 vs. $0.49) but revenue slightly missed expectations ($6.59B vs. $6.71B), and insiders — including the CEO — sold material stakes in recent months.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $69.00 to $73.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price points to a potential upside of 4.82% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zephirin Group increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Capital One Financial increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Johnson Rice initiated coverage on Baker Hughes in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.27.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKR traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $69.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,401,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,632,242. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $61.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.78. The firm has a market cap of $68.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.90. Baker Hughes has a one year low of $34.56 and a one year high of $70.41. 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 (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.17%.The company had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Baker Hughes's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 19,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total transaction of $1,131,956.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $862,296.68. This trade represents a 56.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $16,025,801.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 866,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,938,242.76. This represents a 23.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 590,251 shares of company stock valued at $35,311,023 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Baker Hughes in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,920,000. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $778,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,755,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,813,000 after purchasing an additional 309,996 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 5.4% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,147,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,234,000 after purchasing an additional 367,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 13.6% in the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 829,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,429,000 after purchasing an additional 99,314 shares during the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baker Hughes Company 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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