Short Interest in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Declines By 10.3%

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,650,000 shares, a decrease of 10.3% from the December 15th total of 15,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Atb Cap Markets cut Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus raised Baker Hughes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of BKR stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.54. 8,479,344 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,849,551. Baker Hughes has a 52 week low of $28.32 and a 52 week high of $47.47. The stock has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.74 and its 200-day moving average is $38.33.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is 37.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKR. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Baker Hughes by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,078,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $867,514,000 after acquiring an additional 123,172 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 10,920,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811,940 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 1.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,633,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,233,000 after purchasing an additional 145,537 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 8.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,723,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,801,000 after purchasing an additional 692,859 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,951,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,304,000 after buying an additional 22,383 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

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.