Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Boosts Stock Position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 60.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 949,526 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 358,756 shares during the quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.10% of Baker Hughes worth $34,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 10,920,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811,940 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Baker Hughes by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,486,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,326,000 after purchasing an additional 860,219 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 436.0% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,004,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,318,000 after purchasing an additional 817,227 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,001,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,368,000 after acquiring an additional 780,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 3rd quarter worth $27,914,000. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BKR. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised shares of Baker Hughes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Baker Hughes from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.76.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of Baker Hughes stock opened at $41.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.30. Baker Hughes has a 1 year low of $28.32 and a 1 year high of $45.17.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.67%.

Baker Hughes Company 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.