BHP Group Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BHP)

BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 434,277 call options on the company. This is an increase of 8,207% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,228 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BHP. Zacks Research upgraded BHP Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen raised BHP Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Argus upgraded BHP Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of BHP Group in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BHP Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

BHP Group Trading Down 3.3%

NYSE BHP opened at $75.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. BHP Group has a fifty-two week low of $39.73 and a fifty-two week high of $83.21.

BHP Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a yield of 399.0%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BHP Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in BHP Group by 230.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,852 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 22,201 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in BHP Group by 20.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,594 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of BHP Group by 27.4% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,470 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 357,753 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $17,204,000 after acquiring an additional 6,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 133,082 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,400,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

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.