BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) Short Interest Down 54.1% in July

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 509,791 shares, a decrease of 54.1% from the July 15th total of 1,111,253 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 296,010 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

BW LPG Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE BWLP traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 245,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,642. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.29. BW LPG has a one year low of $11.72 and a one year high of $22.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.81.

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

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $6.196 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $24.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 109.6%. This is a boost from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of BW LPG by 34.6% during 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 period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in BW LPG during the first quarter worth about $9,646,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new position in BW LPG during the fourth quarter worth about $5,388,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BW LPG during the 4th quarter worth about $5,027,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of BW LPG during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,073,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BWLP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BW LPG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Pareto Securities lowered BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Dnb Carnegie raised BW LPG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.