BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday after Dnb Carnegie upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. Approximately 318,254 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 402,126 shares.The stock last traded at $21.68 and had previously closed at $21.14.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BW LPG in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Trading of BW LPG

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in BW LPG by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 74,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 11,819 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of BW LPG by 54.2% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 387,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,799,000 after purchasing an additional 136,000 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of BW LPG by 133.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 98,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 56,347 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in BW LPG during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,646,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in BW LPG during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $183,000.

BW LPG Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.53.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $217.18 million.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.5652 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.5%. This is a positive change from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 142.50%.

BW LPG Company Profile

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.