Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.10.

BAX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Baxter International from $25.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th.

Baxter International Trading Up 5.8%

NYSE:BAX opened at $19.80 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $37.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of -10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.59.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.95% and a negative net margin of 8.51%.The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. Baxter International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. Research analysts predict that Baxter International will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2.16%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in Baxter International by 25.7% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,200,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,114,000 after buying an additional 450,350 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $143,186,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Baxter International during the third quarter worth $2,128,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Baxter International by 20.6% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 574,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $17,402,000 after purchasing an additional 98,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Company Profile

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.