Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) to Hold

BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) was downgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $68.00 price target on the mining company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $72.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 12.27% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Argus upgraded BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

BHP Group Stock Performance

BHP opened at $60.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $54.98 and its 200 day moving average is $56.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $153.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.96. BHP Group has a 12-month low of $50.90 and a 12-month high of $69.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Shorepath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group in the fourth quarter worth $4,354,000. Addenda Capital Inc. lifted its stake in BHP Group by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 112,562 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,494,000 after purchasing an additional 23,968 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of BHP Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,953,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of BHP Group by 104.7% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 32,822 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,894,000 after purchasing an additional 16,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,864,440 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,356,940,000 after purchasing an additional 551,575 shares during the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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