Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Short Interest Up 21.2% in September

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,200,000 shares, an increase of 21.2% from the August 31st total of 10,890,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BAX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.73.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. United Community Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 974.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAX traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $37.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,866,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,141,599. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.17. Baxter International has a 1-year low of $31.01 and a 1-year high of $44.01. The firm has a market cap of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.59.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 16.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.31%.

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.