BP (NYSE:BP) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $47.24 and last traded at $47.3560, with a volume of 442499 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.68.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on BP. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of BP from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $38.50 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen raised BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley raised BP from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $49.40 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, HSBC upgraded BP from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $35.10 to $45.30 in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.18.

BP News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Zacks items moved BP to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and it was added to Zacks’ income and value lists—this can attract retail and income-focused buyers. All You Need to Know About BP (BP) Rating Upgrade to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and other brokers have moved to overweight/raise price targets on BP (one note raised target to $49.40), supporting the bull case and likely contributing to recent upside and higher trading interest. BP Upgraded to ‘Overweight’, Price Target Raised to $49.40
• Positive Sentiment: BP recently hit a 52‑week high, a technical boost that can trigger momentum and trend-following flows. Bp stock hits 52-week high at 47.35 USD
• Neutral Sentiment: BP plans to invest $1.5 billion in Egypt natural gas exploration for FY 2026/27—a meaningful upstream commitment but longer‑dated, so near-term stock impact is uncertain. Bp to invest $1.5bln in Egypt natural gas exploration in FY 2026/27
• Neutral Sentiment: BP sold 13 Thorntons convenience stores to Giant Oil—small retail/retail-asset rationalization that slightly reduces non-core exposure but is unlikely to move fundamentals materially. BP sells 13 Thorntons c-stores to Giant Oil
• Neutral Sentiment: An options piece highlights high call-option yields for BP ADRs—useful for income/derivatives traders but not a broad fundamental catalyst. BP PLC ADRs have high call option yields for value investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Ex‑BP CEO Bernard Looney taking the helm of a data‑center developer is notable headline risk around talent flow but does not directly change BP’s operations. Ex-BP CEO Bernard Looney to Lead Data-Center Developer
• Negative Sentiment: BP has lost its head of electric‑vehicle charging for the second time in a year, and reports say the company is accelerating a pivot back to oil & gas—this raises concerns about execution in EV/retail growth areas and strategic consistency. BP loses head of EV charging as it accelerates pivot back to oil and gas

Institutional Trading of BP

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new position in BP during the 4th quarter valued at $67,890,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of BP in the 4th quarter worth about $17,768,000. Sagefield Capital LP raised its stake in shares of BP by 125.2% in the 4th quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 493,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $17,141,000 after purchasing an additional 274,381 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of BP by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 392,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $13,628,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bollard Group LLC grew its stake in BP by 12.7% in the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 337,724 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $10,108,000 after purchasing an additional 37,974 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,682.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. BP had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 0.03%.The company had revenue of $47.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a $0.4992 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. BP’s payout ratio is currently -19,800.00%.

BP Company Profile

BP plc is a British multinational integrated energy company headquartered in London. Originating in the early 20th century as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP has grown into one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, operating across exploration and production, refining and marketing, trading, and a range of low-carbon businesses.

The company’s core activities include upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream and trading operations, and downstream refining, marketing and supply of fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals.