Johnson Rice Begins Coverage on Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Analysts at Johnson Rice started coverage on shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Johnson Rice’s price target indicates a potential upside of 4.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zephirin Group boosted their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Baker Hughes from $59.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.39.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Baker Hughes stock opened at $64.90 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.46. The stock has a market cap of $64.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.89. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $33.60 and a 12-month high of $65.67.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.09 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 9.33%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Baker Hughes

In related news, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 19,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $1,131,956.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,588 shares in the company, valued at $862,296.68. This trade represents a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William G. Beattie sold 18,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $1,032,537.67. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 40,001 shares of company stock worth $2,322,692 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKR. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 1,242.5% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 344.1% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 104.0% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that provides a broad portfolio of products, services and digital solutions for the oil and gas and industrial markets. Its offerings span oilfield services and equipment — including drilling, evaluation, completion and production technologies — as well as turbomachinery, compressors and related process equipment used in midstream and downstream operations. The company also supplies aftermarket services, field support and integrated solutions designed to improve asset performance and uptime across the energy value chain.

The firm’s roots trace back to the merger of Baker International and Hughes Tool Company, and more recently it combined with GE’s oil and gas business in 2017 to form Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE); subsequent changes in ownership restored Baker Hughes as an independent publicly traded company.