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

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.58.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLCO. Evercore ISI upgraded Bausch + Lomb from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut Bausch + Lomb from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, December 2nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,122,000. Clearline Capital LP boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% in the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after acquiring an additional 411,404 shares during the period. Whitebox Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.2% during the second quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,545,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,447,000 after purchasing an additional 339,643 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,797,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,331,000. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $18.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.47. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $13.16 and a 12 month high of $21.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.08 and its 200-day moving average is $17.88.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. Bausch + Lomb’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

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.