Benchmark Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $57.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on BKR. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.06.

Baker Hughes Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:BKR opened at $46.15 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.64 and a 200 day moving average of $39.73. Baker Hughes has a 52 week low of $28.63 and a 52 week high of $49.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.39.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. This is an increase from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is 28.19%.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $358,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,758,730.54. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Baker Hughes

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 280.5% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 42,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 31,181 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 14,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 6,026 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,297,000. Finally, Tribune Investment Group LP purchased a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,333,000. Hedge funds and other 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.