Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.27.

A number of brokerages recently commented on BLCO. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $13.60 on Tuesday. Bausch + Lomb has a 52-week low of $13.16 and a 52-week high of $21.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of -14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.60.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.60% and a negative net margin of 7.81%. Bausch + Lomb’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.66 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLCO. Eminence Capital LP increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 11.7% in the third quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 5,994,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,612,000 after purchasing an additional 626,431 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,220,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,580,000 after purchasing an additional 333,000 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,938,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,066,000 after acquiring an additional 343,772 shares during the last quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC now owns 1,754,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,925,000 after buying an additional 403,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 39.1% during the third quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,351,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,913,000 after purchasing an additional 380,000 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bausch + Lomb

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.