Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.82.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target (down previously from $24.00) on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Friday, March 28th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 80.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 13,302 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 3,164 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at about $309,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter worth about $555,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 7.5 %

BLCO stock opened at $12.25 on Tuesday. Bausch + Lomb has a one year low of $10.46 and a one year high of $21.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.95 and its 200 day moving average is $17.55. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of -13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.54.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.35% and a negative net margin of 6.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.