BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Short Interest Update

BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,480,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the December 15th total of 8,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

BHP Group Price Performance

BHP Group stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $50.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,348,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,061. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.17. BHP Group has a 12 month low of $48.06 and a 12 month high of $63.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BHP. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BHP Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in BHP Group by 93.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 226,083 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $14,042,000 after purchasing an additional 109,337 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of BHP Group by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,434,417 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $89,092,000 after buying an additional 129,908 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in BHP Group by 10.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 600,086 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $37,271,000 after acquiring an additional 55,095 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in BHP Group by 17.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 153,170 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $9,513,000 after acquiring an additional 22,677 shares during the period. Finally, XY Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in BHP Group by 503.6% in the third quarter. XY Capital Ltd now owns 921,666 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $57,245,000 after acquiring an additional 768,972 shares during the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.