BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $14.57, but opened at $15.18. BW LPG shares last traded at $15.3450, with a volume of 83,080 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on BWLP shares. Dnb Carnegie cut shares of BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Clarkson Capital raised shares of BW LPG from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BW LPG in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

BW LPG Trading Up 5.8%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.83 and a 200-day moving average of $14.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.50.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.09. BW LPG had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 6.76%.The company had revenue of $732.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.18 million.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $5.4297 dividend. This represents a $21.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 140.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 142.50%.

Institutional Trading of BW LPG

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in BW LPG by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,621,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,163,000 after purchasing an additional 35,066 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 12.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,530,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,131,000 after buying an additional 272,882 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of BW LPG by 8.8% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,395,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,413,000 after buying an additional 113,275 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of BW LPG by 41.4% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 560,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,613,000 after buying an additional 164,057 shares during the period. Finally, Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new position in shares of BW LPG during the fourth quarter worth about $5,388,000.

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.