BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 411,433 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 1% from the previous session’s volume of 415,422 shares.The stock last traded at $23.55 and had previously closed at $24.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BW LPG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Clarkson Capital raised BW LPG from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Dnb Carnegie raised BW LPG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Pareto Securities downgraded shares of BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BW LPG currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

BW LPG Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.52 and a 200-day moving average of $19.64.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last released its earnings results on Saturday, August 29th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $318.01 million. BW LPG had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 12.64%.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $8.8914 dividend. This represents a $35.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 144.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This is a positive change from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $6.20. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio is 91.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BW LPG

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in BW LPG in the 1st quarter valued at about $9,646,000. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BW LPG in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,467,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew 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 purchasing an additional 56,347 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of BW LPG during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,073,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BW LPG by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,621,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,163,000 after purchasing an additional 35,066 shares in the last quarter.

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.