Wall Street Zen Upgrades Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) to "Buy"

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on BKR. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $62.00) on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.14.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Baker Hughes stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.56. The company had a trading volume of 5,285,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,097,598. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $61.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.12. Baker Hughes has a 52 week low of $38.37 and a 52 week high of $70.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $10,599,844.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,444 shares in the company, valued at $41,102,232.92. This represents a 20.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total transaction of $326,751.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,027,327.34. This trade represents a 24.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 367,910 shares of company stock valued at $22,420,797 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Baker Hughes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EFG International AG bought a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 344.1% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 49.0% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 651 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Baker Hughes News

Here are the key news stories impacting Baker Hughes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes won EU antitrust approval for its $13.6 billion acquisition of Chart Industries after agreeing to divest certain LNG technology assets, removing a key regulatory hurdle for the deal. Baker Hughes wins conditional EU nod for $13.6 billion Chart deal
• Positive Sentiment: The company also secured substantial equipment and services awards for Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG facility, including liquefaction equipment and turbine upgrades, reinforcing growth in its LNG infrastructure business. Baker Hughes Secures Substantial Equipment and Services Awards for Cheniere's Sabine Pass LNG Facility
• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that U.S. energy firms added rigs for a fourth straight week, which can signal steadier upstream activity and support demand for Baker Hughes’ oilfield services. US energy firms add rigs for fourth week in a row, says Baker Hughes
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an “outperform” rating and a $70 price target, suggesting additional upside versus recent trading levels. The Fly coverage note
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains constructive overall, with Baker Hughes receiving an average “Moderate Buy” rating from analysts.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change in shares sold short, so it does not appear to be a major trading driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: One article noted Baker Hughes is closing a facility and laying off employees, which could raise restructuring concerns, though the impact appears secondary to the stronger LNG and deal-related headlines. HBJ: Baker Hughes closing facility, laying off employees

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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