Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLCO. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered Bausch + Lomb from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $15.76 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.10. Bausch + Lomb has a fifty-two week low of $13.16 and a fifty-two week high of $21.69. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.35% and a negative net margin of 6.62%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 3,008,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,328,000 after buying an additional 796,400 shares during the period. Whitebox Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,443,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,062,000 after acquiring an additional 199,856 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,218,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,996,000 after acquiring an additional 414,138 shares during the period. King Street Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,136,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,522,000 after purchasing an additional 404,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,122,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

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.