BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) Short Interest Down 54.1% in July

Key Points

• BW LPG’s short interest fell 54.1% to 509,791 shares as of July 31, representing about 0.3% of shares outstanding and a days-to-cover ratio of 1.7.
• BWLP shares traded at $22.61, near their 52-week high of $22.92, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $838.89 million and earnings of $1.08 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautiously positive, with three Buy ratings and two Holds for a consensus “Moderate Buy.” The company also declared a sharply increased quarterly dividend, though the reported figures imply an unusually high 109.6% yield and a payout ratio above 100%.

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 509,791 shares, a decrease of 54.1% from the July 15th total of 1,111,253 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 296,010 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWLP. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of BW LPG by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 251,070 shares of the company's stock worth $3,295,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of BW LPG by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd now owns 49,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of BW LPG by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 9,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in BW LPG by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 26,172 shares of the company's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in BW LPG by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 7,086 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period.

BW LPG Stock Performance

BWLP stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.61. 245,163 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 296,642. BW LPG has a 1 year low of $11.72 and a 1 year high of $22.92. The company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $20.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter. BW LPG had a return on equity of 18.51% and a net margin of 10.13%.The business had revenue of $838.89 million for the quarter.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $6.196 per share. This is a boost from BW LPG's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $24.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 109.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. BW LPG's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on BWLP shares. Pareto Securities cut shares of BW LPG from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Dnb Carnegie upgraded shares of BW LPG from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of BW LPG from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of BW LPG from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of BW LPG from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

BW LPG Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source