Analysts Set BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Price Target at $68.00

BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.00.

Several brokerages have commented on BHP. StockNews.com upgraded BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Argus raised BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BHP Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHP. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in BHP Group by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,925 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BHP Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 27,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,101 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in BHP Group by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,365 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC raised its holdings in BHP Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Stock Down 0.4 %

BHP stock opened at $51.84 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.50. BHP Group has a 12 month low of $50.90 and a 12 month high of $69.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $1.465 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from BHP Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $1.44.

About BHP Group

BHP Group Limited operates as a resources company in Australia, Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, the rest of Asia, North America, South America, and internationally. The company operates through Copper, Iron Ore, and Coal segments. It engages in the mining of copper, uranium, gold, zinc, lead, molybdenum, silver, iron ore, cobalt, and metallurgical and energy coal.