Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 6,843 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 142% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,822 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Rice bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $53.10 per share, for a total transaction of $531,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 77,315 shares in the company, valued at $4,105,426.50. This trade represents a 14.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKR. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 121.4% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 209.4% during the 3rd quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 495 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 260.1% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new position in Baker Hughes during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. bought a new position in Baker Hughes during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 92.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BKR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $71.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Baker Hughes from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Baker Hughes from $71.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.27.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

NASDAQ BKR traded up $2.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.87. 3,607,816 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,780,605. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $44.26 and a 1-year high of $70.41. The company has a market cap of $49.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.74 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 10.08%. Baker Hughes’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides products and services to the oil and gas industry and other industrial markets. Its offerings include equipment and services used across the energy value chain, from exploration and production to transportation and processing. The company also develops turbomachinery, industrial equipment, digital technologies and solutions for energy and industrial applications. Its portfolio includes technologies designed to support more efficient operations and lower-emissions energy systems.