Analysts Set Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) PT at $17.25

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.25.

A number of brokerages recently commented on BLCO. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore ISI set a $18.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 428.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,345,000 after acquiring an additional 242,993 shares during the period. Oaktree Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter valued at about $32,801,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter worth about $202,000. Goldentree Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14.9% in the second quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 2,583,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,524,000 after purchasing an additional 334,916 shares during the period. Finally, Kazazian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at approximately $722,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

NYSE BLCO opened at $17.18 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.33. The firm has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.75, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Bausch + Lomb has a 1 year low of $10.45 and a 1 year high of $18.14.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.13% and a positive return on equity of 2.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.