BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $24.41, but opened at $23.50. BW LPG shares last traded at $24.10, with a volume of 86,446 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded BW LPG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Dnb Carnegie raised BW LPG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of BW LPG from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Pareto Securities lowered shares of BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BW LPG presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

BW LPG Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.37.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, August 29th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.38). BW LPG had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 18.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $318.01 million.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $6.196 dividend. This is an increase from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $24.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 103.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. BW LPG’s payout ratio is presently 112.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWLP. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in BW LPG by 4,137.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 22,922 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in BW LPG by 14.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in BW LPG by 26.2% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in BW LPG in the second quarter valued at about $98,000. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. bought a new position in BW LPG during the second quarter worth about $190,000.

BW LPG Company Profile

BW LPG (NYSE: BWLP) is a pure‐play owner and operator of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers. The company’s core business centers on the maritime transportation of LPG, predominantly propane and butane, under both time‐ and voyage‐charter arrangements. Its fleet comprises pressurized and semi‐refrigerated vessels designed to meet the specific requirements of LPG producers, traders and end‐users around the world.

Headquartered in Singapore, BW LPG serves a global customer base, with commercial offices in key energy hubs including Houston, London, Dubai and Tokyo.