Short Interest in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Grows By 21.6%

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 20,640,000 shares, a growth of 21.6% from the February 13th total of 16,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR opened at $43.88 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.90 and its 200-day moving average is $41.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.30. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $30.93 and a 1-year high of $49.40.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 10.70%. Sell-side analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. This is a boost from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 173,302 shares in the company, valued at $7,758,730.54. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Baker Hughes

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 135.9% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Baker Hughes by 2,181.6% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 867 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Baker Hughes by 442.2% during the 3rd 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. 92.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.06.

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.