Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Short Interest Down 10.3% in December

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,650,000 shares, a drop of 10.3% from the December 15th total of 15,210,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Baker Hughes by 2,181.6% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 1,045.1% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 889,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 811,711 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 442.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

BKR traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.54. The stock had a trading volume of 8,479,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,849,551. The stock has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.39. Baker Hughes has a 1 year low of $28.32 and a 1 year high of $47.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.33.

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

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.67%.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

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.