Short Interest in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Rises By 24.2%

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,970,000 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the January 31st total of 13,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $358,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,758,730.54. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 41.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after acquiring an additional 11,834 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Baker Hughes by 51.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Baker Hughes by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,001,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,368,000 after buying an additional 780,417 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,362,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,271,000 after buying an additional 81,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,525,000 after buying an additional 2,305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Baker Hughes stock traded down $0.34 on Thursday, hitting $41.98. The company had a trading volume of 2,632,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,275,486. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.76 and a 200-day moving average of $40.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Baker Hughes has a twelve month low of $30.41 and a twelve month high of $49.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.30.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 14.58%. Research analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.06.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

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.