BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $97.83 and last traded at $97.2210, with a volume of 3964831 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.03.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $1.98 dividend. This represents a yield of 404.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded BHP Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on BHP Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of BHP Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BHP Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.00.

BHP Group Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BHP Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHP. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in BHP Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 23,402,474 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,412,807,000 after purchasing an additional 252,825 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,800,183 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $833,117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,562,747 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,465,421 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $193,197,000 after purchasing an additional 697,316 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,443,560 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $136,228,000 after purchasing an additional 123,382 shares during the period. Finally, SIH Partners LLLP boosted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 937.5% in the 3rd quarter. SIH Partners LLLP now owns 1,856,704 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $103,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677,739 shares during the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BHP Group

BHP Group is an Anglo-Australian natural resources company engaged principally in the exploration, development, production and marketing of commodities. Its core businesses include the extraction and processing of iron ore, copper, metallurgical and thermal coal, nickel and other minerals. BHP operates large-scale mining and processing assets and supplies raw materials used across steelmaking, energy and industrial supply chains.

The company has a global operating footprint with significant assets and projects in Australia and the Americas, and commercial activities that serve customers worldwide.