Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Short Interest Update

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,650,000 shares, a decrease of 10.3% from the December 15th total of 15,210,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Atb Cap Markets lowered Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 0.5 %

Baker Hughes stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.54. 8,479,344 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,849,551. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.36. The company has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Baker Hughes has a fifty-two week low of $28.32 and a fifty-two week high of $47.47.

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

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKR. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 2,181.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 811,711 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 442.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.