Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Short Interest Update

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,740,000 shares, a growth of 30.4% from the December 31st total of 12,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Baxter International in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Baxter International by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 247.3% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 2,622 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Baxter International stock opened at $32.60 on Friday. Baxter International has a 1-year low of $28.33 and a 1-year high of $44.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a PE ratio of 163.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.59.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Baxter International will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 340.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BAX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.