Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.40.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BAX shares. Argus downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Baxter International from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Baxter International from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Baxter International from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 131,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 39,303 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Baxter International by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 68,336 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 7,506 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 101.6% in the 4th quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 13,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 6,550 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Baxter International by 477.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,725,251 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,970,000 after buying an additional 1,426,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 10,693,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,347,000 after acquiring an additional 4,404,874 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $20.07 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of -30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $37.74.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 17.38% and a negative net margin of 3.09%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Baxter International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.520-0.570 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.350-2.400 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -6.06%.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.