BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of BW LPG Limited (NYSE:BWLP) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $21.83, but opened at $20.86. BW LPG shares last traded at $21.27, with a volume of 47,366 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded BW LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BW LPG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised BW LPG from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Pareto Securities cut BW LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Dnb Carnegie upgraded BW LPG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

BW LPG Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.03.

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. BW LPG had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 18.51%. The business had revenue of $838.89 million during the quarter.

BW LPG Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a $6.196 dividend. This represents a $24.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 116.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from BW LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. BW LPG’s payout ratio is currently 112.61%.

Institutional Trading of BW LPG

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWLP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,621,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,163,000 after purchasing an additional 35,066 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of BW LPG by 506.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 42,736 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 299,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,923,000 after purchasing an additional 38,850 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BW LPG by 191.6% during the first quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 49,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 32,659 shares during the period. Finally, Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new stake in BW LPG in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,388,000.

BW LPG Company Profile

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.