Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.00.

Several analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of BRKR stock opened at $39.45 on Friday. Bruker has a 1 year low of $34.10 and a 1 year high of $79.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.91, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.59.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. Analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BRKR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Bruker by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Bruker by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Bruker by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Bruker by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bruker Company Profile

Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI Nano, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.