Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Stock Rated Peer Perform in New Coverage at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a peer perform rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

BAX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Baxter International in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $21.73.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $25.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.78 and a 200-day moving average of $22.13. Baxter International has a one year low of $15.73 and a one year high of $30.00.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.19. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.57% and a negative net margin of 9.27%. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1.93%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in Baxter International by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Baxter International by 552.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,413 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,043 shares during the period. Finally, EFG International AG acquired a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global medical products and healthcare technology company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. The company develops, manufactures and distributes products used in hospitals, clinics, ambulatory care centers and other healthcare settings.

Baxter’s portfolio has included intravenous therapies and administration systems, infusion pumps, connected-care technologies, surgical products, patient monitoring equipment and products used in medication preparation and delivery.