BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• BW LPG reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $25.48 and recently at $25.10, up 1.3% on the day. The company has a $3.77 billion market capitalization and a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy.”
• Recent analyst opinions are mixed but generally constructive: three analysts rate the stock a Buy and two rate it a Hold, with Weiss Ratings and Clarkson Capital issuing upgrades to Buy.
• BW LPG increased its quarterly dividend to $6.196 per share, implying a 99.5% yield and a payout ratio above 100%. The unusually large distribution may warrant scrutiny regarding its sustainability.

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $25.48 and last traded at $25.0960, with a volume of 121402 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BWLP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded BW LPG from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Pareto Securities cut shares of BW LPG from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Dnb Carnegie raised shares of BW LPG from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BW LPG from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of BW LPG from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

BW LPG Trading Up 1.3%

The stock has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.19.

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

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $6.196 dividend. This is an increase from BW LPG's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $24.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 99.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. BW LPG's payout ratio is currently 112.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BW LPG

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in BW LPG by 34.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,257,314 shares of the company's stock worth $26,704,000 after purchasing an additional 579,987 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of BW LPG during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,646,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new position in shares of BW LPG during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,388,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BW LPG during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,027,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of BW LPG in the second quarter worth approximately $6,218,000.

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.

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