BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Trading Down 4.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• BW LPG shares fell 4.5% on Thursday, trading as low as $19.55 after closing at $20.15, with volume running well below average. The stock was last seen at $19.2350.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, but the overall consensus is Hold. Recent actions included upgrades from Kepler Capital Markets and Wall Street Zen, while Pareto Securities and Dnb Carnegie lowered or softened their views.
• The company reported solid recent fundamentals, including Q1 EPS of $1.08 on revenue of $838.89 million, and it also announced a sharply higher quarterly dividend of $6.196 per share, implying a very high annualized yield.

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 4.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $19.55 and last traded at $19.2350. Approximately 204,826 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 432,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BWLP. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of BW LPG from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Pareto Securities downgraded BW LPG from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of BW LPG in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised BW LPG from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Dnb Carnegie upgraded BW LPG from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

BW LPG Trading Down 6.2%

The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 1.29. The business's 50-day moving average is $19.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.36. 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 earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $6.196 per share. This represents a $24.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 131.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from BW LPG's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. BW LPG's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 74,786 shares of the company's stock worth $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 11,819 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in BW LPG by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 387,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,799,000 after buying an additional 136,000 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in BW LPG by 133.9% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 98,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 56,347 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of BW LPG during the 1st quarter worth $9,646,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in BW LPG during the first quarter worth about $183,000.

About BW LPG

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.

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