BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Receives $53.00 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

BHP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Clarkson Capital raised BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

BHP Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BHP opened at $48.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.07. BHP Group has a 12-month low of $39.73 and a 12-month high of $63.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.86.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. BHP Group’s payout ratio is presently 44.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in BHP Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,225,134 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,085,253,000 after buying an additional 280,258 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in BHP Group by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,294,562 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $112,043,000 after acquiring an additional 846,963 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in BHP Group by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 710,003 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $34,669,000 after purchasing an additional 102,433 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of BHP Group by 1,898.9% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 707,405 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $34,543,000 after purchasing an additional 672,016 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 642,756 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $31,386,000 after purchasing an additional 57,097 shares during the period. 3.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.