Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $45.08 and last traded at $45.30, with a volume of 1059827 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BRKR shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.50.

Bruker Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 59.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. Equities analysts forecast that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 4.4% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,698 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 3.6% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 36,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bruker by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 40,522 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,798,000 after buying an additional 5,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Bruker by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 42,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,947,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bruker

Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI Nano, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.