Smith Moore & CO. Takes $222,000 Position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Smith Moore & CO. purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter valued at $640,000. Burney Co. increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 315.0% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 138,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,693,000 after purchasing an additional 105,349 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,180,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,053,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,233,000 after buying an additional 239,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 214,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,801,000 after buying an additional 12,178 shares during the period. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Baker Hughes news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $358,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,758,730.54. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Down 13.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKR opened at $35.41 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $35.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Baker Hughes has a 12 month low of $30.93 and a 12 month high of $49.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.07.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 14.58%. As a group, analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. This is a positive change from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BKR shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Baker Hughes 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.