Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.1111.

A number of research firms recently commented on BAX. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $35.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Baxter International in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 5.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 7,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 3.4% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 14,479 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 20.5% in the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,935 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee increased its holdings in Baxter International by 2.5% in the first quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 22,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Baxter International by 17.3% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,822 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Price Performance

NYSE BAX opened at $24.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.12. Baxter International has a 52-week low of $21.33 and a 52-week high of $40.49. The company has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a PE ratio of -81.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.59.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Baxter International had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 16.96%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Baxter International’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.580-0.620 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.420-2.520 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -226.67%.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories.