Morgan Stanley Boosts Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Price Target to $45.00

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $43.56.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR traded up $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $37.55. The company had a trading volume of 5,913,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,393,618. The stock has a market cap of $37.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.98. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $28.32 and a 1-year high of $39.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.08. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. Baker Hughes's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Baker Hughes's payout ratio is currently 46.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 114,286 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 502,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,571,855. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 32.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,364,995 shares of the company's stock worth $581,729,000 after acquiring an additional 4,207,973 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,898,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,074,000 after purchasing an additional 680,621 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 8.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,723,388 shares of the company's stock worth $306,801,000 after buying an additional 692,859 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 3.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,274,250 shares of the company's stock worth $291,005,000 after buying an additional 248,122 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Baker Hughes by 10.2% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,609,115 shares of the company's stock worth $221,405,000 after buying an additional 612,715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company's stock.

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.