BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) Cut to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $68.00 price target on the mining company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $72.00.

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

BHP Group Stock Performance

BHP Group stock opened at $60.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.70. BHP Group has a one year low of $50.90 and a one year high of $69.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.96.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of BHP Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Shorepath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,354,000. Addenda Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 27.1% during the first quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 112,562 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,494,000 after purchasing an additional 23,968 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,953,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 104.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 32,822 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,894,000 after buying an additional 16,788 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of BHP Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,864,440 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,356,940,000 after buying an additional 551,575 shares during the last quarter. 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.