Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Short Interest Up 6.1% in December

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,120,000 shares, an increase of 6.1% from the November 30th total of 12,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Baxter International by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $460,022,000 after purchasing an additional 170,776 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 213.5% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 23,192 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $881,000 after buying an additional 15,794 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 15.4% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 170,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,487,000 after buying an additional 22,787 shares during the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC raised its holdings in Baxter International by 50.0% in the third quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 150,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,696,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coho Partners Ltd. bought a new position in Baxter International during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $29.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Baxter International has a 1-year low of $28.33 and a 1-year high of $44.01. The company has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.81, a PEG ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.49 and a 200-day moving average of $35.02.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 0.77%. Baxter International’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 340.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.45.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories.