Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.45.

Several research firms have issued reports on BLCO. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Bausch + Lomb from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Evercore cut their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLCO. Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 11.7% in the third quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 5,994,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,612,000 after purchasing an additional 626,431 shares during the period. Freshford Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC now owns 1,754,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,925,000 after buying an additional 403,062 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the first quarter valued at about $6,817,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 39.1% during the third quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,351,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,913,000 after acquiring an additional 380,000 shares during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in Bausch + Lomb by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,938,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,066,000 after acquiring an additional 343,772 shares in the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

BLCO stock opened at $14.73 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.87 and its 200-day moving average is $15.37. Bausch + Lomb has a 1 year low of $13.16 and a 1 year high of $21.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of -15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.49.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.02). Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.60% and a negative net margin of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.