Quantitative Investment Management LLC Acquires New Position in BP p.l.c. $BP

Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 79,906 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of BP in the first quarter valued at $39,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in BP during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in BP by 76.2% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in BP during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in BP by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,808 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP opened at $42.13 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.54. BP p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $32.72 and a twelve month high of $48.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.35. BP had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 2.49%.The business had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.5196 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. BP’s payout ratio is presently 100.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on BP from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of BP from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on BP from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of BP from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BP currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.36.

BP 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.