BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company.

BWLP has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of BW LPG in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Dnb Carnegie raised shares of BW LPG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Pareto Securities cut BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th.

BW LPG Trading Up 4.1%

BW LPG stock opened at $20.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.99 and a 200-day moving average of $17.57. BW LPG has a one year low of $11.72 and a one year high of $22.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 1.29.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $838.89 million during the quarter. BW LPG had a return on equity of 18.51% and a net margin of 10.13%.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $6.196 per share. This represents a $24.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 118.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. BW LPG’s payout ratio is 112.61%.

Institutional Trading of BW LPG

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,257,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,704,000 after buying an additional 579,987 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in BW LPG in the first quarter valued at about $9,646,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new position in BW LPG during the fourth quarter worth about $5,388,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BW LPG in the fourth quarter worth about $5,027,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 115,776.1% in the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 203,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 203,766 shares during the last quarter.

About BW LPG

BW LPG (NYSE: BWLP) is a pure‐play owner and operator of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers. The company’s core business centers on the maritime transportation of LPG, predominantly propane and butane, under both time‐ and voyage‐charter arrangements. Its fleet comprises pressurized and semi‐refrigerated vessels designed to meet the specific requirements of LPG producers, traders and end‐users around the world.

Headquartered in Singapore, BW LPG serves a global customer base, with commercial offices in key energy hubs including Houston, London, Dubai and Tokyo.