Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Short Interest Down 12.1% in April

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) saw a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,160,000 shares, a drop of 12.1% from the March 31st total of 25,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Baker Hughes from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.94.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ BKR traded up $0.38 on Monday, reaching $33.22. The stock had a trading volume of 4,650,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,714,631. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $26.81 and a 12-month high of $37.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.42.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 6.95%. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.93%.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In related news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares in the company, valued at $508,132.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total value of $169,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $508,132.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total value of $294,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,451 shares in the company, valued at $425,437.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 44.0% in the third quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 6,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 8.2% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 2.8% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 15,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.