BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BHP Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in BHP Group by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 81,119 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,541,000 after purchasing an additional 27,945 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in BHP Group by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 22,617 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in BHP Group by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 906 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of BHP Group by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,937 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares during the period. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BHP Group Price Performance

BHP stock opened at $62.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $157.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.67. BHP Group has a 1 year low of $50.90 and a 1 year high of $69.11.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.465 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%. This is a positive change from BHP Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $1.44. BHP Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.29%.

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.