BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

BWLP has been the topic of several other reports. Kepler Capital Markets raised BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. 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 report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BW LPG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

BW LPG Stock Performance

Shares of BWLP opened at $21.66 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.99. BW LPG has a one year low of $11.72 and a one year high of $22.92.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $838.89 million for the quarter.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $6.196 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $24.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 114.4%. This is an increase from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BWLP. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of BW LPG during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,646,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in 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 worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 56,347 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in BW LPG by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,621,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,163,000 after acquiring an additional 35,066 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in BW LPG by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 387,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,799,000 after acquiring an additional 136,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in BW LPG by 506.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 42,736 shares in the last quarter.

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.