Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $65.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BRKR. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th.

Institutional Trading of Bruker

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Bruker by 36.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,685 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,847,000 after acquiring an additional 14,888 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 11.7% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,272,000 after purchasing an additional 14,069 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Bruker by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at $251,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bruker Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of BRKR opened at $39.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.78, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker has a 52 week low of $34.10 and a 52 week high of $79.78. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.11.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

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.