Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Baxter International’s Q3 2026 earnings at $0.59 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.17 EPS and Q4 2027 earnings at $0.62 EPS.

BAX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on Baxter International from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Baxter International from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of BAX opened at $20.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.41, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.18. Baxter International has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $37.74.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.09. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 17.38% and a negative net margin of 3.09%.The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. Baxter International’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.520-0.570 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.350-2.400 EPS. Analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -6.06%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 10.1% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 57,396,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,306,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,274,750 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Baxter International by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,882,960 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $388,416,000 after buying an additional 326,652 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Baxter International by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 10,693,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,347,000 after buying an additional 4,404,874 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $231,304,000 after buying an additional 97,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,515,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,243,000 after acquiring an additional 615,100 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Baxter International

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.