Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $54.72 and last traded at $58.08, with a volume of 101947 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research lowered Bruker from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $78.00 target price on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on Bruker from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Bruker from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.82.

Bruker Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.68.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The business had revenue of $800.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $799.44 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 11.29%. The company's revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is 8.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 20.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Bruker by 2.3% during the second quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,766 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Bruker by 139.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 361 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Bruker by 120.4% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 399 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Bruker by 0.8% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 30,911 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,972,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.