BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $17.18 and last traded at $16.8250, with a volume of 396928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BWLP shares. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of BW LPG from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BW LPG in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

BW LPG Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion and a P/E ratio of 14.81.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $279.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.92 million. BW LPG had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 4.57%.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This is a positive change from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.59%.

Institutional Trading of BW LPG

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of BW LPG during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $592,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its position in BW LPG by 290.0% during the second quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 50,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 37,295 shares in the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC lifted its stake in BW LPG by 14.7% in the second quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 31,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BW LPG in the 2nd quarter valued at about $142,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of BW LPG by 506.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 42,736 shares during the last quarter.

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.