BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised BW LPG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Dnb Carnegie upgraded shares of BW LPG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Pareto Securities downgraded shares of BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

BW LPG Stock Performance

Shares of BWLP opened at $21.59 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.18 and a 200-day moving average of $18.62. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 0.98. BW LPG has a one year low of $11.72 and a one year high of $22.92.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter. The business 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $6.196 dividend. This is a boost from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $24.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 114.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio is 112.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BW LPG

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of BW LPG in the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,646,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of BW LPG by 133.9% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 98,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 56,347 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BW LPG by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,621,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,163,000 after acquiring an additional 35,066 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in BW LPG by 54.2% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 387,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,799,000 after acquiring an additional 136,000 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in BW LPG by 506.7% during 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.

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.