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

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.40.

BAX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Argus cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $25.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $20.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.18. The stock has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of -30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International has a one year low of $17.40 and a one year high of $37.74.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 17.38% and a negative net margin of 3.09%.The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. 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. On average, analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Baxter International by 24.6% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,839 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Baxter International by 1.4% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 159,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares during the period. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Baxter International by 39.9% during the second quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,392 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,395 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 183,276 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,576,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 1,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

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.