Wall Street Zen Upgrades Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) to Buy

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

BKR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 5.8%

Shares of BKR opened at $60.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.96. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $41.96 and a 12-month high of $70.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, July 26th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.17%.The company had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 5,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total value of $326,751.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,327.34. This represents a 24.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $10,599,844.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 703,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,102,232.92. This represents a 20.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 367,910 shares of company stock worth $22,420,797. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baker Hughes

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EFG International AG bought a new stake in Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 344.1% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Baker Hughes

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

• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes reported adjusted second-quarter EPS of $0.64, topping the $0.49 consensus estimate, while revenue of $6.74 billion exceeded expectations by $230 million and rose 2.4% year over year. Baker Hughes earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The Industrial & Energy Technology segment was the primary growth driver. Second-quarter orders reached $10.5 billion, including $7.1 billion from IET, while total remaining performance obligations reached $40.1 billion, supported by a record $37.1 billion IET backlog. Baker Hughes second-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: The company secured a major LNG technology order from Venture Global for the CP2 expansion in Louisiana, reinforcing its exposure to LNG infrastructure and long-term energy demand. Baker Hughes Venture Global LNG order
• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, payable August 17 to shareholders of record August 7, providing continued income support for investors. Baker Hughes dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance was approximately $6.9 billion, broadly in line with analyst expectations. The company did not provide a clear EPS guidance figure in the supplied update.
• Negative Sentiment: Baker Hughes expects global oil and gas producer spending to decline modestly in 2026, with lower spending in Europe and the Middle East offsetting growth elsewhere. The company also saw unusually heavy put-option activity, signaling increased near-term hedging or bearish speculation. Reuters oil and gas spending outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts view BKR as fairly valued after its rally. Potential volatility from Middle East tensions, commodity prices and the Chart Industries integration could limit further upside despite strong operating momentum.

About Baker Hughes

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.