Baker Hughes Sees Bullish Option Activity as Analysts Hold Favorable Targets
Baker Hughes stock saw surging call option buying and opened at $49.41 on Thursday, supported by a consensus price target of $70.27 and recent earnings that beat analyst expectations.
Shares of Baker Hughes Company opened at $49.41 on Thursday after trading up 4.4% to $49.87 during Wednesday trading. The positive movement followed a surge in options activity on Wednesday, when traders acquired 6,843 call options, a 142% increase compared to the average daily volume of 2,822 call contracts.
Analyst sentiment around the company remains favorable. Data from MarketBeat shows 22 research firms giving Baker Hughes a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average 12-month target price of $70.27. However, ratings compiled across publications show slight differences; Yahoo Finance reported a Strong Buy consensus among 21 analysts, noting 15 Strong Buy, two Moderate Buy, and four Hold recommendations. Recent individual adjustments were mixed, with firms such as Citigroup lowering their target from $75.00 to $72.00, while TD Cowen raised its objective from $76.00 to $77.00.
The market interest follows quarterly earnings released on Tuesday, October 27th. Baker Hughes reported earnings of $0.70 per share, topping analyst projections of $0.61. Quarterly revenue reached $8.03 billion, up 14.5% year over year and above the expected $7.74 billion. Barchart reported via Yahoo Finance that revenue benefited from demand in data centers, liquefied natural gas infrastructure, and its integrated Chart business, though shares experienced pressure from declining operating margins tied to cost pressures and integration expenses.
Company insiders and large institutions have also been active. In a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd, Director John Rice purchased 10,000 shares at an average price of $53.10 each, totaling $531,000.00 and increasing his ownership by 14.86%. Institutional filings revealed that Retirement Systems of Alabama expanded its stake by 298.2% in the third quarter, purchasing 621,459 shares to hold 829,871 shares valued at $45,560,000.
Baker Hughes also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th to shareholders of record as of Tuesday, November 10th. The payment represents an annualized dividend of $0.92 with a yield of about 1.9%. Additionally, Simply Wall St noted that the company recently concluded a $1.45 billion sale of Waygate Technologies, generating cash and narrowing its operating focus.