Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Cuts Stake in Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lessened its position in Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) by 33.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 119,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,368 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $7,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKR. EFG International AG acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position 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 period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $62.00) on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Baker Hughes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baker Hughes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.14.

Baker Hughes News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Baker Hughes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes won EU antitrust approval for its $13.6 billion acquisition of Chart Industries after agreeing to divest certain LNG technology assets, removing a key regulatory hurdle for the deal. Baker Hughes wins conditional EU nod for $13.6 billion Chart deal
• Positive Sentiment: The company also secured substantial equipment and services awards for Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG facility, including liquefaction equipment and turbine upgrades, reinforcing growth in its LNG infrastructure business. Baker Hughes Secures Substantial Equipment and Services Awards for Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG Facility
• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that U.S. energy firms added rigs for a fourth straight week, which can signal steadier upstream activity and support demand for Baker Hughes’ oilfield services. US energy firms add rigs for fourth week in a row, says Baker Hughes
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an “outperform” rating and a $70 price target, suggesting additional upside versus recent trading levels. The Fly coverage note
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains constructive overall, with Baker Hughes receiving an average “Moderate Buy” rating from analysts.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change in shares sold short, so it does not appear to be a major trading driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: One article noted Baker Hughes is closing a facility and laying off employees, which could raise restructuring concerns, though the impact appears secondary to the stronger LNG and deal-related headlines. HBJ: Baker Hughes closing facility, laying off employees

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In related news, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 5,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total value of $326,751.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 15,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,027,327.34. This represents a 24.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $10,599,844.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 703,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,102,232.92. This trade represents a 20.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKR opened at $57.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.22. Baker Hughes Company has a twelve month low of $38.37 and a twelve month high of $70.41. The company has a market capitalization of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.96.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is currently 29.39%.

Baker Hughes Profile

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.