Bank of America Reiterates Buy, PO of $68 on Baker Hughes

Bank of America maintains its Buy rating and price objective of $68 a share on Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) as the company posts second miss in a row, driven primarily by North American operations.

Bank of America says, "BHI reported 4Q11 recurring EPS of $1.22, missing our $1.34 and the Street's $1.32 by a wide margin. BHI stock should underperform on the day. Availability, costs and transportation issues related to sand and gel impacted North American results, which are expected to continue through 1H12. HAL's 4Q results were impacted by logistics and proppants supply issues too. Critically, int'l margin increased 333bp to 15.6%, exceeding BHI's target."

BHI closed at $47.73 a share on Monday.