BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Shares Down 7.8% After Analyst Downgrade

BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP)’s stock price traded down 7.8% during trading on Friday after Kepler Capital Markets downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $13.54 and last traded at $13.5380. 152,723 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 410,345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.69.

BWLP has been the topic of several other reports. Dnb Carnegie downgraded BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BW LPG in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of BW LPG from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of BW LPG

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 290.0% in the 2nd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 50,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 37,295 shares during the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 31,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BW LPG by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,621,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,163,000 after buying an additional 35,066 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of BW LPG by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 18,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in BW LPG by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 24,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter.

BW LPG Stock Down 7.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.09. BW LPG had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 6.76%.The company had revenue of $732.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.18 million.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $5.4297 per share. This represents a $21.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 159.9%. This is a positive change from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. BW LPG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

About BW LPG

BW LPG (NYSE: BWLP) is a pure‐play owner and operator of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers. The company’s core business centers on the maritime transportation of LPG, predominantly propane and butane, under both time‐ and voyage‐charter arrangements. Its fleet comprises pressurized and semi‐refrigerated vessels designed to meet the specific requirements of LPG producers, traders and end‐users around the world.

Headquartered in Singapore, BW LPG serves a global customer base, with commercial offices in key energy hubs including Houston, London, Dubai and Tokyo.