Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $128.29.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Bunge from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bunge from $105.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Bunge from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on Bunge in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm began coverage on Bunge in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company.

Bunge Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE BG opened at $113.15 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $109.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.42. The stock has a market cap of $17.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Bunge has a 52-week low of $80.41 and a 52-week high of $116.59.

Bunge (NYSE:BG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $15.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.35 billion. Bunge had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bunge will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Bunge Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be given a $0.6625 dividend. This represents a $2.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. Bunge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christos Dimopoulos sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.89, for a total transaction of $2,237,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 73,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,200,529.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bunge

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BG. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Bunge by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,071,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,893,737,000 after buying an additional 76,544 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bunge by 5.2% during the first 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. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Bunge by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,912,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,231,000 after purchasing an additional 98,422 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bunge by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,204,320 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $301,543,000 after purchasing an additional 104,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in Bunge by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,931,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,049,000 after purchasing an additional 104,152 shares during the period. 84.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bunge Company Profile

Bunge Limited operates as an agribusiness and food company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Agribusiness, Refined and Specialty Oils, Milling, and Sugar and Bioenergy. The Agribusiness segment purchases, stores, transports, processes, and sells agricultural commodities and commodity products, including oilseeds primarily soybeans, rapeseed, canola, and sunflower seeds, as well as grains comprising wheat and corn; and processes oilseeds into vegetable oils and protein meals.