Traders Buy High Volume of Baker Hughes Put Options (NASDAQ:BKR)

Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 8,920 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 172% compared to the typical volume of 3,279 put options.

Key Baker Hughes News

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BKR shares. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $60.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on Baker Hughes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.00.

Insider Transactions at Baker Hughes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baker Hughes

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 344.1% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Baker Hughes by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 5.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR opened at $60.59 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Baker Hughes has a 52-week low of $41.96 and a 52-week high of $70.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.05. The company has a market capitalization of $60.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is 29.39%.

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.