Baxter International Inc. (BAX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.01 on October 1st

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a dividend of 0.01 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Thursday, October 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th.

Baxter International has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. Baxter International has a dividend payout ratio of 1.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Baxter International to earn $1.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 2.0%.

Baxter International Price Performance

NYSE:BAX opened at $26.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a PE ratio of -12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. Baxter International has a 1-year low of $15.73 and a 1-year high of $30.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.70% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Baxter International will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore dropped their price objective on Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Baxter International from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $22.09.

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.