Brokerages Set Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) Target Price at $18.08

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.0833.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BLCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Monday, April 20th.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $15.75 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.59. Bausch + Lomb has a 12-month low of $11.22 and a 12-month high of $18.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.61.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 4.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. Bausch + Lomb’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Bausch + Lomb

In other news, CFO Sam Eldessouky purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.13 per share, with a total value of $68,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 403,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,905,616.90. The trade was a 1.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP A Robert D. Bailey acquired 14,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.15 per share, for a total transaction of $250,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 231,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,976,913.50. The trade was a 6.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $570,868 over the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 16.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 65,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 9,066 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 67.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Whitebox Advisors LLC increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 15.8% during the first quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,101,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,519,000 after acquiring an additional 150,641 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 100.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 139,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 69,633 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 13.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 85,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 9,971 shares during the period. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.