Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) shares hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $43.51 and last traded at $43.82, with a volume of 290690 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BRKR shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.50.

Bruker Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.16 and its 200 day moving average is $57.69. The firm has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BRKR. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Bruker by 2.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 90,284 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,235,000 after buying an additional 2,436 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Bruker by 11.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 206,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,289,000 after buying an additional 21,000 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 11.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 899,638 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,129,000 after purchasing an additional 94,612 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 446.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 22,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 62.9% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 163,926 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,321,000 after purchasing an additional 63,296 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bruker

Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI Nano, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.