BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Short Interest Up 20.9% in May

BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,330,000 shares, a growth of 20.9% from the April 30th total of 12,680,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BHP Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in BHP Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the first quarter worth $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in BHP Group in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in BHP Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Clarkson Capital raised BHP Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut BHP Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.00.

BHP Group Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of BHP Group stock traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $50.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,350,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,540,321. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.70. BHP Group has a 52-week low of $39.73 and a 52-week high of $63.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.69 and a 200 day moving average of $49.42.

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.