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

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.90.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BAX. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Baxter International from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore cut their target price on Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greenhaven Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter worth about $143,186,000. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in Baxter International by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 57,396,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,306,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,274,750 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Baxter International by 477.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,725,251 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,547 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $257,174,000 after purchasing an additional 972,891 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Baxter International by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,410,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $65,216,000 after acquiring an additional 894,761 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baxter International Price Performance

Baxter International stock opened at $17.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.02 and its 200-day moving average is $20.64. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $35.03. The company has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.41, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Baxter International Announces Dividend

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

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.