Morgan Stanley Raises Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Price Target to $45.00

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $43.56.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKR opened at $37.93 on Thursday. Baker Hughes has a 52 week low of $28.32 and a 52 week high of $39.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.38.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 7.37%. Baker Hughes’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.93%.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 114,286 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,571,855. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the first quarter worth $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Alta Advisers Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Baker Hughes during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Baker Hughes by 281.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

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.