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 company. This is an increase of approximately 322% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,262 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baker Hughes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,813,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Baker Hughes by 731.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,458,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,732,000 after buying an additional 1,283,296 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Baker Hughes by 12.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 905,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,983,000 after buying an additional 97,108 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Baker Hughes by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 3,111,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,365,000 after buying an additional 248,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DDD Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth about $11,054,000. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baker Hughes Trading Down 1.0 %

BKR stock opened at $32.67 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.55. Baker Hughes has a 52 week low of $26.81 and a 52 week high of $37.58. The company has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.94.

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.