Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.25.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLCO. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore set a $18.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $15.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of -14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.31. Bausch + Lomb has a one year low of $10.45 and a one year high of $18.92.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.03). Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.06% and a positive return on equity of 2.77%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 14,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.14 per share, for a total transaction of $251,958.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 966,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,567,095.50. This trade represents a 1.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sam Eldessouky purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.13 per share, with a total value of $68,520.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 403,130 shares in the company, valued at $6,905,616.90. This represents a 1.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 33,300 shares of company stock worth $570,868. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oaktree Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,801,000. Goldentree Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 2,660,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,002,000 after purchasing an additional 77,323 shares during the last quarter. Compass Rose Asset Management LP boosted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 22.0% in the third quarter. Compass Rose Asset Management LP now owns 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,070,000 after buying an additional 180,000 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter worth $2,249,000. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.