BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.00.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BHP shares. Citigroup raised shares of BHP Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Liberum Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BHP Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BHP Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in BHP Group by 2.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,695,563 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $267,084,000 after purchasing an additional 126,643 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in BHP Group by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,993,564 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $170,274,000 after purchasing an additional 924,202 shares during the last quarter. XY Capital Ltd grew its holdings in BHP Group by 422.1% during the fourth quarter. XY Capital Ltd now owns 127,566 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $8,714,000 after purchasing an additional 103,134 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in BHP Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,866,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in BHP Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,933,000. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Price Performance

NYSE BHP opened at $57.66 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.22. BHP Group has a 52-week low of $54.28 and a 52-week high of $69.11.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th.

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