Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Short Interest Update

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,970,000 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the January 31st total of 13,660,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

BKR stock opened at $41.90 on Friday. Baker Hughes has a 1 year low of $30.44 and a 1 year high of $49.40. The company has a market cap of $41.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.78 and a 200 day moving average of $40.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 14.58%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Baker Hughes news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $358,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,758,730.54. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BKR. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 135.9% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 2,181.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BKR. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Baker Hughes from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.06.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.