Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on BHP Group (NYSE:BHP)

BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 60,174 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,021% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,368 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BHP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded BHP Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of BHP Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BHP Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BHP Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BHP Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Main Street Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 1st quarter valued at $37,767,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,608,000. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in BHP Group by 119.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 32,654 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,770,000 after acquiring an additional 17,793 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in BHP Group by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 204,473 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $17,035,000 after acquiring an additional 45,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BHP Group during the 1st quarter worth $18,591,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:BHP traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $79.36. The stock had a trading volume of 942,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,161,087. BHP Group has a 1 year low of $52.18 and a 1 year high of $98.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.81 and its 200-day moving average is $85.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

BHP Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $1.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 438.0%.

About BHP Group

BHP Group Limited is a global resources company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. The company explores, develops and operates large-scale mineral assets, with core products including copper, iron ore, metallurgical coal and potash. Its commodities are used in steelmaking, construction, manufacturing, agriculture and technologies supporting the energy transition.

BHP’s principal operations are located in Australia, Chile, Canada and Brazil. Major assets include Western Australia Iron Ore, the Escondida and Spence copper operations in Chile, Olympic Dam in South Australia and the Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan, Canada.