BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Receives $50.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup raised BHP Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Liberum Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BHP Group in a report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BHP Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 4th quarter valued at $191,837,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of BHP Group by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,389,504 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $299,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395,940 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BHP Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,902,182 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,359,518,000 after purchasing an additional 589,317 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in BHP Group by 6,529.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 464,771 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $31,749,000 after acquiring an additional 457,760 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in BHP Group by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 942,001 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $64,348,000 after acquiring an additional 420,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Price Performance

Shares of BHP opened at $55.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.57. BHP Group has a one year low of $54.28 and a one year high of $69.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.72 and its 200-day moving average is $60.24.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. BHP Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.66%.

BHP Group Company Profile

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, silver, zinc, molybdenum, uranium, gold, iron ore, and metallurgical and energy coal.