BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after Dnb Carnegie upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. 318,254 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 402,126 shares.The stock last traded at $21.68 and had previously closed at $21.14.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Kepler Capital Markets raised BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BW LPG in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWLP. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of BW LPG by 4,137.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 22,922 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in BW LPG by 14.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of BW LPG by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of BW LPG during the 2nd quarter worth about $98,000. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. bought a new position in BW LPG during the 2nd quarter valued at about $190,000.

BW LPG Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 1.32.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $732.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.18 million. BW LPG had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 6.76%.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.5652 per share. This represents a $2.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.5%. This is a boost from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. BW LPG’s payout ratio is presently 142.50%.

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.