Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Stock

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $49.00 to $53.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.86% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on BKR. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.24.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of BKR traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $46.96. 3,176,073 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,566,447. Baker Hughes has a one year low of $28.32 and a one year high of $47.60. The firm has a market cap of $46.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.03 and a 200-day moving average of $39.12.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In related news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total value of $358,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares in the company, valued at $7,758,730.54. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 6.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,362,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,271,000 after purchasing an additional 81,625 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its stake in Baker Hughes by 315.0% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 138,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,693,000 after buying an additional 105,349 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter valued at $1,180,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,053,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,233,000 after acquiring an additional 239,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 6.0% in 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 in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.