Short Interest in Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) Drops By 26.3%

Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 26,659,190 shares, a decrease of 26.3% from the January 15th total of 36,152,005 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 11,787,184 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 11,787,184 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Baker Hughes Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Baker Hughes stock opened at $61.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.17 and its 200-day moving average is $48.29. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $33.60 and a 12-month high of $62.27. The stock has a market cap of $60.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.89.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.11. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $7.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Baker Hughes’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is 35.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Zephirin Group upped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Argus lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $55.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Baker Hughes news, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 19,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $1,131,956.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,296.68. This trade represents a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William G. Beattie sold 18,023 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $1,032,537.67. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,001 shares of company stock worth $2,322,692. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,890,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,035,924,000 after buying an additional 598,159 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 61,409,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,796,586,000 after acquiring an additional 937,614 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in Baker Hughes by 1,005.1% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 49,353,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,247,550,000 after acquiring an additional 44,887,481 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,546,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,316,462,000 after acquiring an additional 3,153,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,213,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,194,000 after purchasing an additional 204,534 shares during the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that provides a broad portfolio of products, services and digital solutions for the oil and gas and industrial markets. Its offerings span oilfield services and equipment — including drilling, evaluation, completion and production technologies — as well as turbomachinery, compressors and related process equipment used in midstream and downstream operations. The company also supplies aftermarket services, field support and integrated solutions designed to improve asset performance and uptime across the energy value chain.

The firm’s roots trace back to the merger of Baker International and Hughes Tool Company, and more recently it combined with GE’s oil and gas business in 2017 to form Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE); subsequent changes in ownership restored Baker Hughes as an independent publicly traded company.