Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,499 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $2,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKR. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Baker Hughes by 256.7% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes in the first quarter worth $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 281.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 46.9% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.47.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In related news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 55,980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $1,791,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,945,120. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $37.97. 2,377,593 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,522,924. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Baker Hughes has a 52-week low of $28.32 and a 52-week high of $37.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.25. The company has a market cap of $37.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.08. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is presently 46.93%.

Baker Hughes 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.