Short Interest in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Drops By 10.0%

BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,030,000 shares, a drop of 10.0% from the March 15th total of 10,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BHP. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,902,182 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,359,518,000 after purchasing an additional 589,317 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 119.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,338,797 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $798,672,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632,545 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,705,642 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $291,985,000 after purchasing an additional 61,012 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,430,056 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $302,625,000 after purchasing an additional 168,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of BHP Group by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,389,504 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $299,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395,940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BHP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup raised shares of BHP Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Liberum Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of BHP Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BHP Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

BHP Group Price Performance

BHP Group stock traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.41. 3,440,062 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,619,117. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. BHP Group has a 52 week low of $54.28 and a 52 week high of $69.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.13.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th.

BHP Group Company Profile

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, silver, zinc, molybdenum, uranium, gold, iron ore, and metallurgical and energy coal.