BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $23.01 and last traded at $22.9080, with a volume of 2652 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BWLP shares. Dnb Carnegie raised shares of BW LPG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Pareto Securities lowered BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Kepler Capital Markets raised BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded BW LPG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

BW LPG Stock Up 1.4%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.98.

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

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $6.196 per share. This represents a $24.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 108.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in BW LPG by 34.6% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of BW LPG during the 1st quarter worth about $9,646,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new stake in shares of BW LPG in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,388,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BW LPG in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,027,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of BW LPG in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,218,000.

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.