BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Dnb Carnegie upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as high as $21.35 and last traded at $21.2750, with a volume of 23152 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.06.

BWLP has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BW LPG in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Kepler Capital Markets raised BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BW LPG has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in BW LPG by 506.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 42,736 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in BW LPG by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,621,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,163,000 after acquiring an additional 35,066 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in BW LPG by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 24,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new position in BW LPG in the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC grew its position in BW LPG by 10.0% in the third quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 34,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111 shares during the period.

BW LPG Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.56.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.18 million.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.5652 per share. This is an increase from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. 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.