Investors Purchase Large Volume of Baker Hughes Put Options (NASDAQ:BKR)

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 13,753 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 322% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,262 put options.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR traded up $0.54 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.54. 3,359,494 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,662,335. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $33.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.55. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $26.81 and a 12-month high of $37.58.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is 43.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total transaction of $294,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,437.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total transaction of $294,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,437.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,132.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at about $551,555,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes in the first quarter valued at $117,083,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 16.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,078,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316,638 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 846.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,378,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,025,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,635,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822,487 shares in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Baker Hughes from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

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.