BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company.

A number of research firms have weighed in on BHP. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of BHP Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com upgraded BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on BHP Group in a report on Friday, May 31st. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.

BHP Group Stock Up 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BHP opened at $57.35 on Wednesday. BHP Group has a 1 year low of $50.90 and a 1 year high of $69.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.08 and its 200 day moving average is $56.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $145.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.96.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.465 per share. This represents a yield of 5.2%. This is an increase from BHP Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $1.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. BHP Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.07%.

Institutional Trading of BHP Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BHP Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,301,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in BHP Group by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 55,676 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $3,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BHP Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $366,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in BHP Group by 79.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 3,830 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 70.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 74,424 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,249,000 after buying an additional 30,714 shares during the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BHP Group

BHP Group Limited operates as a resources company in Australia, Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, the rest of Asia, North America, South America, and internationally. The company operates through Copper, Iron Ore, and Coal segments. It engages in the mining of copper, silver, zinc, molybdenum, uranium, gold, iron ore, and metallurgical and energy coal.