Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.23 Per Share

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 30th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.23 per share on Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Baker Hughes has raised its dividend by an average of 5.3% annually over the last three years. Baker Hughes has a payout ratio of 28.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Baker Hughes to earn $2.56 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.8%.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of BKR stock traded up $1.53 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $44.60. 11,013,352 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,087,644. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $28.32 and a 12-month high of $47.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.39.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 13.77%. As a group, research analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $358,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,730.54. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKR shares. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.06.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.