BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.01 and last traded at $22.9080, with a volume of 2652 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BWLP shares. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Dnb Carnegie upgraded shares of BW LPG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Pareto Securities downgraded BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BW LPG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BW LPG presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

BW LPG Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.98. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter. BW LPG had a return on equity of 18.51% and a net margin of 10.13%.The company had revenue of $838.89 million during the quarter.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a $6.196 dividend. This is a boost from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $24.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 108.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. BW LPG’s payout ratio is presently 112.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in BW LPG in the first quarter valued at approximately $9,646,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of BW LPG by 133.9% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 98,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 56,347 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,621,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,163,000 after purchasing an additional 35,066 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of BW LPG by 54.2% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 387,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,799,000 after buying an additional 136,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BW LPG by 191.6% in the first quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 49,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 32,659 shares during the period.

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.