Ellsworth Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 36,844 Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 36,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BLCO. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,797,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth about $526,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,020,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,974,000 after acquiring an additional 85,987 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $957,000. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.9% during the second quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 653,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,489,000 after purchasing an additional 146,583 shares in the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BLCO opened at $17.36 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.54, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.04. Bausch + Lomb Co. has a 12 month low of $13.16 and a 12 month high of $21.69.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI raised Bausch + Lomb from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.42.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.