Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Bunge Call Options (NYSE:BG)

Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG – Get Rating) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 6,608 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 282% compared to the typical volume of 1,729 call options.

Bunge Stock Up 14.5 %

Shares of NYSE BG opened at $104.62 on Wednesday. Bunge has a one year low of $80.41 and a one year high of $128.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $97.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.66.

Bunge (NYSE:BG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The basic materials company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.20 billion. Bunge had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 2.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bunge will post 11.83 EPS for the current year.

Bunge Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Bunge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.76%.

Institutional Trading of Bunge

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Bunge by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 17,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,994 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bunge during the 1st quarter valued at about $494,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bunge by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 8,767 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of Bunge during the 1st quarter valued at about $530,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bunge by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,105,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,563,069,000 after purchasing an additional 696,806 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BG. StockNews.com raised Bunge from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bunge from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $127.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Bunge in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.13.

Bunge Company Profile

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Bunge Ltd. operates as a holding company. engages in the supply and transportation of agricultural commodities. It operates through the following segments: Agribusiness, Refined and Specialty Oils, Milling, and Sugar and Bioenergy. The Agribusiness segment is involved in the purchase, storage, transportation, processing, and sale of agricultural commodities and commodity products.