Brokerages Set BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) PT at $53.00

Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

Several research firms have weighed in on BHP. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

BHP Group Stock Down 0.2 %

BHP Group stock opened at $49.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. BHP Group has a twelve month low of $48.06 and a twelve month high of $63.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.54.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 13,856 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,150 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 17.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,365 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,353 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,483 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. 3.79% of the stock is owned by 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.