Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Short Interest Down 12.1% in April

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,160,000 shares, a decline of 12.1% from the March 31st total of 25,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on BKR shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.94.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of BKR traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $33.22. 4,650,518 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,714,631. The company has a market cap of $33.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.42. Baker Hughes has a 52 week low of $26.81 and a 52 week high of $37.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 11.42%. The business had revenue of $6.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is 46.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Baker Hughes news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total value of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $508,132.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total value of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares in the company, valued at $508,132.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total transaction of $294,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,437.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 256.7% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Baker Hughes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

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.