Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $51.62 and last traded at $51.54, with a volume of 2919212 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKR has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.04.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.89.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKR. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in Baker Hughes by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 648,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,850,000 after acquiring an additional 49,108 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,920,000. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,434,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Baker Hughes by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,450,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,607,000 after purchasing an additional 8,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Baker Hughes by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,800,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,026,000 after purchasing an additional 144,381 shares during the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.