BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $25.77, but opened at $24.89. BW LPG shares last traded at $25.4690, with a volume of 167,680 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BWLP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BW LPG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Pareto Securities raised BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Clarkson Capital upgraded BW LPG from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

BW LPG Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.74.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, August 29th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.38). BW LPG had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 12.64%.The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $318.01 million.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a dividend of NOK 8.89 per share. This represents a $35.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 138.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This is an increase from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of NOK 6.20. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio is 129.25%.

Institutional Trading of BW LPG

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BWLP. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in BW LPG during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,646,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new position in shares of BW LPG in the fourth quarter valued at $5,388,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of BW LPG during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,218,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of BW LPG during the 2nd quarter worth $6,073,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of BW LPG during the 2nd quarter worth $3,626,000.

About BW LPG

BW LPG Ltd. (NYSE: BWLP) is a maritime transportation company focused on the international seaborne transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The company owns and operates very large gas carriers (VLGCs), which transport propane, butane and other LPG products between major production and consumption markets.

BW LPG provides shipping and related logistics services to energy companies, commodity traders and other customers worldwide. Its activities include vessel ownership and operation, commercial management, ship management and LPG transportation.