Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Baxter International in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a neutral rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen downgraded Baxter International from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Baxter International from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $41.70.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $35.27 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.96. The firm has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.57. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $31.01 and a 52 week high of $44.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.04. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.79%. The company had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. Baxter International’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 22.31%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Baxter International by 205.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 953 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, CKW Financial Group purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories.