Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on BHP Group (NYSE:BHP)

BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 60,174 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,021% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,368 put options.

BHP Group Stock Up 1.9%

BHP stock traded up $1.51 during trading on Monday, hitting $79.36. The company had a trading volume of 942,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,161,087. BHP Group has a 1-year low of $52.18 and a 1-year high of $98.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.88.

BHP Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $1.98 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 438.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BHP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BHP Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of BHP Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded BHP Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHP. Main Street Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the first quarter worth $37,767,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in BHP Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,608,000. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 119.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 32,654 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,770,000 after buying an additional 17,793 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 28.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 204,473 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $17,035,000 after buying an additional 45,759 shares during the period. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $18,591,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Company Profile

BHP Group Limited is a global resources company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. The company explores, develops and operates large-scale mineral assets, with core products including copper, iron ore, metallurgical coal and potash. Its commodities are used in steelmaking, construction, manufacturing, agriculture and technologies supporting the energy transition.

BHP’s principal operations are located in Australia, Chile, Canada and Brazil. Major assets include Western Australia Iron Ore, the Escondida and Spence copper operations in Chile, Olympic Dam in South Australia and the Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan, Canada.