Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Short Interest Up 11.5% in June

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,460,000 shares, an increase of 11.5% from the May 31st total of 22,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Baker Hughes

In related news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 55,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $1,791,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,035 shares in the company, valued at $2,945,120. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 55,980 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $1,791,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 92,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,945,120. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,132.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 256.7% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.27.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.47. 2,796,499 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,814,788. The stock has a market cap of $34.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.41. Baker Hughes has a twelve month low of $28.32 and a twelve month high of $37.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 6.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.93%.

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.