Short Interest in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Drops By 10.4%

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,210,000 shares, a decline of 10.4% from the November 30th total of 16,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 0.2 %

BKR traded up $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $41.02. The company had a trading volume of 4,630,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,076,203. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.40. Baker Hughes has a 52-week low of $28.32 and a 52-week high of $45.17.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Baker Hughes by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 1.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 29,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 4.6% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BKR shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.00.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.