Zacks Research Downgrades Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Baker Hughes to a Strong Sell, which contrasts with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" (19 Buys, 2 Holds, 1 Sell) and a consensus price target of $68.09.
• CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares (~$16.0M) on March 11, and insiders have sold a total of 590,251 shares worth $35.31M over the past 90 days.
• Baker Hughes reported Q1 EPS of $0.58 (beat the $0.49 estimate) while revenue of $6.59B missed the $6.71B estimate; the stock opened at $68.81 and the company has a market cap of about $68B and a 52‑week range of $34.56–$70.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on BKR. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Baker Hughes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.09.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR opened at $68.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Baker Hughes has a one year low of $34.56 and a one year high of $70.41. The company has a market cap of $68.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.90.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $16,025,801.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 866,444 shares in the company, valued at $50,938,242.76. This trade represents a 23.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William G. Beattie sold 18,023 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total transaction of $1,032,537.67. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 590,251 shares of company stock worth $35,311,023 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

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

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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