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

Bunge Global SA (NYSE:BG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 3,403 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 133% compared to the typical volume of 1,458 call options.

Institutional Trading of Bunge Global

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bunge Global in the 4th quarter worth about $148,857,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Bunge Global in the 1st quarter worth about $92,552,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in Bunge Global by 443.2% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,215,320 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $94,503,000 after purchasing an additional 991,607 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Bunge Global by 34.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,346,709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $255,756,000 after acquiring an additional 859,733 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Bunge Global by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,206,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,349,000 after acquiring an additional 713,561 shares during the period. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BG. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Bunge Global from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Bunge Global from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bunge Global currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.60.

Bunge Global Stock Up 5.6%

BG opened at $81.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.32. Bunge Global has a 52 week low of $67.40 and a 52 week high of $114.92. The company has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Bunge Global (NYSE:BG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.54. Bunge Global had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The business had revenue of $11.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Bunge Global will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bunge Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Bunge Global’s dividend payout ratio is 35.53%.

Bunge Global Company Profile

Bunge Global SA 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.