BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday.

Several other research firms have also commented on BHP. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus upgraded BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.00.

BHP Group Stock Performance

BHP Group stock opened at $52.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.42. BHP Group has a twelve month low of $50.90 and a twelve month high of $69.11.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.465 per share. This represents a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This is an increase from BHP Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $1.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BHP Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Passumpsic Savings Bank boosted its holdings in BHP Group by 8.3% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 4,548 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in BHP Group by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,819 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Raelipskie Partnership boosted its position in BHP Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 16,877 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 93.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 226,083 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $14,042,000 after buying an additional 109,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in BHP Group by 1,739.3% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,667 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 2,522 shares during the period. 3.79% of the stock is 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, uranium, gold, zinc, lead, molybdenum, silver, iron ore, cobalt, and metallurgical and energy coal.