BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.00.

BHP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

BHP Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BHP stock opened at $57.12 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.92. BHP Group has a 52-week low of $50.90 and a 52-week high of $69.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.70.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $1.465 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This is an increase from BHP Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $1.44. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%. BHP Group’s payout ratio is 62.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC raised its position in BHP Group by 7.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,084 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in BHP Group during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in BHP Group by 19.1% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,185 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in BHP Group by 4.3% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,098 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC increased its position in BHP Group by 4.6% during the first quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 19,173 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Company Profile

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, uranium, gold, zinc, lead, molybdenum, silver, iron ore, cobalt, and metallurgical and energy coal.