Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

BKR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Baker Hughes in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Baker Hughes from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Baker Hughes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.14.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Baker Hughes stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.56. 5,285,567 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,097,598. The company has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $38.37 and a 12-month high of $70.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total transaction of $10,599,844.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 703,444 shares in the company, valued at $41,102,232.92. The trade was a 20.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 5,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total value of $326,751.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,327.34. This represents a 24.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 367,910 shares of company stock valued at $22,420,797 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at about $778,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,755,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,813,000 after purchasing an additional 309,996 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $830,000. OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Baker Hughes during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,049,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 469,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,373,000 after buying an additional 104,428 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

More Baker Hughes News

Here are the key news stories impacting Baker Hughes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes won EU antitrust approval for its $13.6 billion acquisition of Chart Industries after agreeing to divest certain LNG technology assets, removing a key regulatory hurdle for the deal. Baker Hughes wins conditional EU nod for $13.6 billion Chart deal
• Positive Sentiment: The company also secured substantial equipment and services awards for Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG facility, including liquefaction equipment and turbine upgrades, reinforcing growth in its LNG infrastructure business. Baker Hughes Secures Substantial Equipment and Services Awards for Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG Facility
• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that U.S. energy firms added rigs for a fourth straight week, which can signal steadier upstream activity and support demand for Baker Hughes’ oilfield services. US energy firms add rigs for fourth week in a row, says Baker Hughes
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an “outperform” rating and a $70 price target, suggesting additional upside versus recent trading levels. The Fly coverage note
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains constructive overall, with Baker Hughes receiving an average “Moderate Buy” rating from analysts.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change in shares sold short, so it does not appear to be a major trading driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: One article noted Baker Hughes is closing a facility and laying off employees, which could raise restructuring concerns, though the impact appears secondary to the stronger LNG and deal-related headlines. HBJ: Baker Hughes closing facility, laying off employees

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that provides a broad portfolio of products, services and digital solutions for the oil and gas and industrial markets. Its offerings span oilfield services and equipment — including drilling, evaluation, completion and production technologies — as well as turbomachinery, compressors and related process equipment used in midstream and downstream operations. The company also supplies aftermarket services, field support and integrated solutions designed to improve asset performance and uptime across the energy value chain.

The firm’s roots trace back to the merger of Baker International and Hughes Tool Company, and more recently it combined with GE’s oil and gas business in 2017 to form Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE); subsequent changes in ownership restored Baker Hughes as an independent publicly traded company.