Q3 EPS Estimate for Baxter International Cut by Analyst

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) – Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2026 earnings estimates for Baxter International in a report released on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $0.59 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.60. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Baxter International’s current full-year earnings is $2.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Baxter International’s FY2026 earnings at $2.17 EPS and Q4 2027 earnings at $0.62 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Baxter International from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Baxter International in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Baxter International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $21.40.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of BAX stock opened at $19.71 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.12 and its 200 day moving average is $22.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.87, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International has a twelve month low of $17.40 and a twelve month high of $37.74.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.09. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 17.38% and a negative net margin of 3.09%.The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.520-0.570 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.350-2.400 EPS.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -6.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,651,542 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,009,000 after acquiring an additional 155,415 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 20.6% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 574,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $17,402,000 after purchasing an additional 98,000 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in Baxter International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 52,121,620 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,578,243,000 after purchasing an additional 662,695 shares during the period. Parkwood LLC purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the second quarter worth approximately $9,459,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Baxter International by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,900,828 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,568,000 after purchasing an additional 224,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.