Short Interest in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Increases By 21.6%

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 20,640,000 shares, a growth of 21.6% from the February 13th total of 16,970,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on BKR shares. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.06.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 2.1 %

Baker Hughes stock opened at $44.60 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.32. Baker Hughes has a one year low of $30.93 and a one year high of $49.40.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 14.58%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total value of $358,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,758,730.54. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Baker Hughes by 135.9% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 2,181.6% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 442.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

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.