BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) Rating Lowered to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) was downgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $68.00 price objective on the mining company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $72.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.67% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Argus raised shares of BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

BHP Group Price Performance

Shares of BHP Group stock opened at $60.90 on Friday. BHP Group has a twelve month low of $50.90 and a twelve month high of $69.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.96.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BHP Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BHP Group by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,925 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 27,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 208 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, silver, zinc, molybdenum, uranium, gold, iron ore, and metallurgical and energy coal.