Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.10.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BAX. Argus downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore cut their target price on Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Baxter International from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st.

Baxter International Price Performance

NYSE:BAX opened at $21.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.10. Baxter International has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $37.74. The firm has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.50, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.59.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.95% and a negative net margin of 8.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Baxter International will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2.16%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of Baxter International by 10.1% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 57,396,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,306,915,000 after buying an additional 5,274,750 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Baxter International by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $257,174,000 after buying an additional 972,891 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Baxter International by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 10,693,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $204,347,000 after acquiring an additional 4,404,874 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Baxter International by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $231,304,000 after acquiring an additional 97,687 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Baxter International by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,410,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $65,216,000 after acquiring an additional 894,761 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.