BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• BHP Group Limited has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with one sell rating, seven hold ratings, and one strong buy rating among the nine analysts covering the stock.
• The company recently increased its semi-annual dividend to $1.185 per share, up from $1.00, representing a yield of 4.41%.
• BHP's last quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $2.00, which was below the consensus estimate of $2.09, despite reporting revenue exceeding the forecast.

Shares of BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.50.

BHP has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Sunday, July 27th. Macquarie downgraded BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of BHP Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of BHP Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of BHP Group in a research report on Friday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in BHP Group in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the second quarter worth $31,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in BHP Group in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in BHP Group by 3,040.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 691 shares of the mining company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in BHP Group by 249.8% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 871 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company's stock.

BHP Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of BHP stock opened at $55.65 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.98 and a 200-day moving average of $51.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.46. BHP Group has a 12-month low of $39.73 and a 12-month high of $58.51.

BHP Group (NYSE:BHP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The mining company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $26.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.04 billion. As a group, analysts predict that BHP Group will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $1.185 dividend. This is a boost from BHP Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $1.00. This represents a dividend yield of 441.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th.

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.

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