Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.06.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BKR. Citigroup raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total value of $358,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares in the company, valued at $7,758,730.54. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Pension Service grew its stake in Baker Hughes by 6.4% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,362,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,271,000 after purchasing an additional 81,625 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth about $640,000. Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 315.0% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 138,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,693,000 after acquiring an additional 105,349 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth about $1,180,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,053,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,233,000 after acquiring an additional 239,773 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 2.3 %

BKR stock opened at $44.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.53. Baker Hughes has a fifty-two week low of $29.30 and a fifty-two week high of $49.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $44.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.39.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 14.58%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is presently 30.87%.

About Baker Hughes

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.