Brokerages Set BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) PT at $53.00

BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.00.

BHP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

BHP Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BHP opened at $49.23 on Wednesday. BHP Group has a twelve month low of $48.06 and a twelve month high of $63.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.54. The company has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BHP Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BHP Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BHP. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in BHP Group by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,294,562 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $112,043,000 after purchasing an additional 846,963 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of BHP Group by 1,898.9% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 707,405 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $34,543,000 after acquiring an additional 672,016 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of BHP Group by 13.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,603,624 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $348,041,000 after acquiring an additional 642,765 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of BHP Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,944,876 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,362,996,000 after acquiring an additional 633,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,878,000. 3.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BHP Group Company Profile

BHP Group Limited operates as a resources company in Australia, Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, the rest of Asia, North America, South America, and internationally. The company operates through Copper, Iron Ore, and Coal segments. It engages in the mining of copper, uranium, gold, zinc, lead, molybdenum, silver, iron ore, cobalt, and metallurgical and energy coal.