Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Short Interest Update

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,210,000 shares, a drop of 10.4% from the November 30th total of 16,980,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Baker Hughes by 34.7% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 10,920,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,775,000 after buying an additional 2,811,940 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,296,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,486,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,326,000 after purchasing an additional 860,219 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 1,045.1% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 889,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 811,711 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

BKR traded up $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,513,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,075,739. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.33. The company has a market cap of $40.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.40. Baker Hughes has a 1 year low of $28.32 and a 1 year high of $45.17.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 8.20%. The company had revenue of $6.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BKR shares. Atb Cap Markets cut Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Baker Hughes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.00.

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.