BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• BW LPG shares opened lower, falling from a prior close of $24.41 to $23.50 before recovering to around $24.10.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: three analysts rate the stock Buy and two rate it Hold, giving BW LPG a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, below the $1.17 consensus estimate, while recently declaring a sharply increased quarterly dividend of $6.196 per share; several institutional investors also increased or initiated positions.

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $24.41, but opened at $23.50. BW LPG shares last traded at $24.10, with a volume of 86,446 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

BW LPG Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $20.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05 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.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, August 29th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $318.01 million. 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from BW LPG's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $24.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 103.7%. BW LPG's payout ratio is 112.61%.

Institutional Trading of BW LPG

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWLP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 579,987 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in BW LPG during the first quarter worth $9,646,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new position in BW LPG during the 4th quarter valued at $5,388,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in BW LPG during the 4th quarter valued at $5,027,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in BW LPG in the 2nd quarter valued at $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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