Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.10.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $19.02 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.21 and a 200 day moving average of $20.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.28, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.58. Baxter International has a fifty-two week low of $17.40 and a fifty-two week high of $37.74.

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

Baxter International Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Baxter International by 169.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 984 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

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.