Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Short Interest Update

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,550,000 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the August 31st total of 18,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Baker Hughes from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.38.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 1.7 %

Baker Hughes stock opened at $36.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $28.32 and a 1-year high of $39.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.38.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.08. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 7.37%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 114,286 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.55, for a total transaction of $4,405,725.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 616,339 shares in the company, valued at $23,759,868.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKR. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the second quarter worth $6,592,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Baker Hughes in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,505,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 39.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 2,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 36.5% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 61,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 16,582 shares during the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Baker Hughes

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.