Brokerages Set Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Price Target at $20.10

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.10.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on Baxter International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Baxter International stock opened at $21.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $37.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.13. The company has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of -11.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid 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 (DPR) is presently -2.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in Baxter International by 99.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 111,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,245,000 after acquiring an additional 55,674 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,410,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $65,216,000 after purchasing an additional 894,761 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 49,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 2,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Baxter International in the fourth quarter worth about $748,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.