First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Baker Hughes Company $BKR

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) by 25.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,325,417 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,906,384 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.95% of Baker Hughes worth $454,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BKR. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Baker Hughes by 1,242.5% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 66.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Baker Hughes from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Baker Hughes from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.61.

Baker Hughes News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Baker Hughes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes’ weekly rig count showed U.S. drillers added oil and gas rigs for the first time in four weeks, a sign of improving activity that supports demand for BKR’s services. US drillers add oil, gas rigs for first time in four weeks, Baker Hughes says
• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes successfully priced $6.5B of U.S. senior notes and €3B of euro notes across multiple maturities; the sales show investor demand and provide cash to help fund the Chart Industries takeover. Baker Hughes Successfully Prices $6.5 Billion and €3 Billion Offerings of Senior Notes
• Positive Sentiment: At least one sell-side note expects upside for BKR, providing support to the equity narrative. Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Widening geopolitical risk after the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader is reshaping energy markets; higher oil-price risk can boost activity and service revenues over time. The Iran War Is Reshaping Energy Markets and These Stocks Win Big
• Neutral Sentiment: Earlier media reports said Baker Hughes planned a ~$10B cross-border bond sale to help finance the Chart acquisition—this was a precursor to the priced notes and mostly confirms the financing plan. Baker Hughes Plans $10 Billion Bond Sale to Finance Chart Industries Acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures are showing zero shares (likely a data/ reporting artifact) and are not informative for current positioning. (Data entry)
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,593 shares (~$16.7M) on March 4, reducing his stake by ~29% — a large insider sale that can weigh on sentiment. SEC filing: SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple other recent insider sales are documented (Quiver summary), which may amplify investor concern about insider liquidity and timing around the Chart acquisition. Quiver: Debt offerings and insider activity

Baker Hughes Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Baker Hughes stock opened at $59.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Baker Hughes Company has a 12-month low of $33.60 and a 12-month high of $67.00. The company has a market cap of $59.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.83.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.11. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $7.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Baker Hughes’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 19,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $1,131,956.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,296.68. This represents a 56.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.34, for a total transaction of $47,494.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,830.46. This trade represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 312,594 shares of company stock worth $18,986,302. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that provides a broad portfolio of products, services and digital solutions for the oil and gas and industrial markets. Its offerings span oilfield services and equipment — including drilling, evaluation, completion and production technologies — as well as turbomachinery, compressors and related process equipment used in midstream and downstream operations. The company also supplies aftermarket services, field support and integrated solutions designed to improve asset performance and uptime across the energy value chain.

The firm’s roots trace back to the merger of Baker International and Hughes Tool Company, and more recently it combined with GE’s oil and gas business in 2017 to form Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE); subsequent changes in ownership restored Baker Hughes as an independent publicly traded company.