HSBC Initiates Coverage on Bunge (NYSE:BG)

Equities research analysts at HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Bunge (NYSE:BG) in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “hold” rating and a $122.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. HSBC’s price target points to a potential upside of 8.53% from the stock’s previous close.

BG has been the topic of a number of other reports. 51job restated an “initiates” rating on shares of Bunge in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Bunge in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bunge from $105.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Bunge from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Bunge from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bunge has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.50.

Bunge Stock Performance

Bunge stock opened at $112.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.67. Bunge has a 1-year low of $80.41 and a 1-year high of $116.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.27 and a 200-day moving average of $99.66.

Bunge (NYSE:BG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Bunge had a return on equity of 20.12% and a net margin of 3.09%. The business had revenue of $15.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Bunge will post 12.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christos Dimopoulos sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 16th. The stock was 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 owns 73,291 shares in the company, valued at $8,200,529.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BG. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Bunge by 12.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 17,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,994 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bunge during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $494,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Bunge in the 1st quarter worth approximately $530,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Bunge by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,105,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,563,069,000 after acquiring an additional 696,806 shares during the period. 84.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bunge

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.