BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) Shares Gap Up to $56.96

BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $56.96, but opened at $58.98. BHP Group shares last traded at $58.45, with a volume of 2,730,392 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of BHP Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Liberum Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BHP Group in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

BHP Group Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $58.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BHP Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in BHP Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,902,182 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,359,518,000 after purchasing an additional 589,317 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in BHP Group by 119.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,338,797 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $798,672,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632,545 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in BHP Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,705,642 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $291,985,000 after purchasing an additional 61,012 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in BHP Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,430,056 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $302,625,000 after purchasing an additional 168,875 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in BHP Group by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,389,504 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $299,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

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.