Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.9091.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore lowered their target price on Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Baxter International from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup cut Baxter International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research lowered Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of BAX opened at $22.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.41, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.62. Baxter International has a twelve month low of $15.73 and a twelve month high of $29.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.39.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.70% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Baxter International by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $257,174,000 after buying an additional 972,891 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 10,693,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,347,000 after acquiring an additional 4,404,874 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Baxter International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $231,304,000 after acquiring an additional 97,687 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Baxter International by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,410,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $65,216,000 after acquiring an additional 894,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its position in Baxter International by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 3,328,202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,602,000 after purchasing an additional 356,612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.