Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.91.

BLCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 3,232 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at $173,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at $289,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at $289,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at $302,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BLCO opened at $19.69 on Friday. Bausch + Lomb has a 1 year low of $13.16 and a 1 year high of $21.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a PE ratio of -18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.59 EPS for the current year.

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

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.