Alberta Investment Management Corp Raises Holdings in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO)

Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) by 36.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,008,193 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 796,400 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned approximately 0.85% of Bausch + Lomb worth $54,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 4.4% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,020,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,974,000 after buying an additional 85,987 shares during the period. King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,122,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,797,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,331,000. Finally, Renaissance Capital LLC increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 116.2% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 94,182 shares of the company's stock worth $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 50,622 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company's stock.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BLCO traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.75. 589,705 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 678,649. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.46. Bausch + Lomb Co. has a 52 week low of $13.16 and a 52 week high of $21.69.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.34%. The company's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BLCO shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Bausch + Lomb from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.83.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.