Investors Purchase High Volume of BHP Group Put Options (NYSE:BHP)

BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 6,375 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 96% compared to the average volume of 3,257 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BHP. Citigroup upgraded BHP Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Liberum Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BHP Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

BHP Group Stock Down 3.6 %

BHP Group stock traded down $2.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 767,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,573,195. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.57. BHP Group has a 12 month low of $54.28 and a 12 month high of $69.11.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 5.2%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in BHP Group by 110.0% during the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 460 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BHP Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in BHP Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 3.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.