Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,740,000 shares, a growth of 30.4% from the December 31st total of 12,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAX has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.45.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Coho Partners Ltd. purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter worth $57,229,000. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in Baxter International by 148.8% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 870,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,387,000 after acquiring an additional 520,633 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 22.1% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $43,841,000 after purchasing an additional 208,726 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $460,022,000 after buying an additional 170,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in Baxter International by 140.5% in the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 273,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,987,000 after acquiring an additional 160,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE BAX opened at $32.60 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 163.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.57. Baxter International has a fifty-two week low of $28.33 and a fifty-two week high of $44.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 340.02%.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories.