BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $21.35 and last traded at $21.2750, with a volume of 23152 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Kepler Capital Markets raised BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Dnb Carnegie cut BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BW LPG in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

BW LPG Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.44.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $732.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.18 million. BW LPG had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 12.61%.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.5652 dividend. This represents a $2.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 142.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in BW LPG by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,621,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,163,000 after buying an additional 35,066 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BW LPG by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,530,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,131,000 after acquiring an additional 272,882 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of BW LPG by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,395,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,413,000 after acquiring an additional 113,275 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 41.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 560,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,613,000 after purchasing an additional 164,057 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of BW LPG in the first quarter valued at approximately $9,646,000.

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.