StockNews.com Downgrades BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) to Buy

BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

BHP Group Price Performance

NYSE:BHP traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.10. 2,746,438 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,433,198. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.18. BHP Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.06 and a fifty-two week high of $63.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Institutional Trading of BHP Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHP. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in BHP Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in BHP Group during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in BHP Group during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in BHP Group during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

About BHP Group

BHP Group Limited operates as a resources company in Australia, Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, the rest of Asia, North America, South America, and internationally. The company operates through Copper, Iron Ore, and Coal segments. It engages in the mining of copper, uranium, gold, zinc, lead, molybdenum, silver, iron ore, cobalt, and metallurgical and energy coal.