Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. 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 company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.25.

A number of research analysts recently commented on BLCO shares. Morgan Stanley cut Bausch + Lomb from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter worth approximately $14,122,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,797,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter worth $4,331,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter worth $1,911,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 85,987 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of BLCO opened at $17.90 on Thursday. Bausch + Lomb has a 12-month low of $13.16 and a 12-month high of $21.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of -17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.13.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.