Baxter International (BAX) and Its Peers Critical Review

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) is one of 511 publicly-traded companies in the “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Baxter International to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Baxter International and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baxter International	$11.24 billion	-$957.00 million	-18.72
Baxter International Competitors	$1.87 billion	$138.21 million	12.55

Baxter International has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its competitors. Baxter International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.2% of Baxter International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.6% of shares of all “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Baxter International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.0% of shares of all “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Baxter International and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baxter International	3	10	1	0	1.86
Baxter International Competitors	4281	10558	18338	829	2.46

Baxter International presently has a consensus price target of $23.27, indicating a potential downside of 11.84%. As a group, “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies have a potential upside of 18.96%. Given Baxter International’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Baxter International has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Risk & Volatility

Baxter International has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Baxter International’s competitors have a beta of 2.57, indicating that their average stock price is 157% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Baxter International and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baxter International	-6.23%	16.23%	5.08%
Baxter International Competitors	-276.78%	-149.08%	-21.73%

Dividends

Baxter International pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International pays out -2.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.1% and pay out 40.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Baxter International competitors beat Baxter International on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories. It also provides administrative sets; adhesion prevention products; inhaled anesthesia; drug compounding; chronic and acute dialysis therapies and services, including peritoneal dialysis (PD), hemodialysis (HD), continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT), and other organ support therapies. The company’s products are used in hospitals, kidney dialysis centers, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, ambulatory surgery centers, doctors’ offices, and patients at home under physician supervision. The company sells its products through direct sales force, as well as through independent distributors, drug wholesalers, and specialty pharmacy or other alternate site providers in approximately 100 countries. It has an agreement with Celerity Pharmaceutical, LLC to develop acute care generic injectable premix and oncolytic products; and a collaborative research agreement with Miromatrix Medical Inc. aiming to advance care for patients with acute liver failure. Baxter International Inc. was incorporated in 1931 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.