Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $40.00 price objective on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna restated a positive rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $40.94.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

BKR stock opened at $32.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.53. The stock has a market cap of $32.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Baker Hughes has a 1 year low of $26.81 and a 1 year high of $37.58.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 6.95%. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.93%.

Insider Transactions at Baker Hughes

In other news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,998 shares in the company, valued at $508,132.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,998 shares in the company, valued at $508,132.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total value of $294,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,437.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,813,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 731.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,458,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,732,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283,296 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 12.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 905,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,983,000 after purchasing an additional 97,108 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 527,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,018,000 after purchasing an additional 70,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 3,111,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,365,000 after purchasing an additional 248,125 shares during the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.