Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $44.93 and last traded at $44.93, with a volume of 3140 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BKR shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.59.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.45.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is currently 37.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKR. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Baker Hughes by 3.4% during the third quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 69.7% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 527,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,069,000 after purchasing an additional 216,613 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 1,793 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,078,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $867,514,000 after buying an additional 123,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 48,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,738,000 after buying an additional 3,229 shares in the last quarter. 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.