BP (NYSE:BP) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BP. Wall Street Zen raised BP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of BP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of BP from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.05.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at $44.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.27. BP has a 1 year low of $32.72 and a 1 year high of $48.27. The firm has a market cap of $115.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.15.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.89 billion. BP had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 2.49%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 106.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts predict that BP will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.5196 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4992. BP’s payout ratio is presently 100.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in BP by 8.3% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 143,487 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $5,302,000 after acquiring an additional 10,974 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA purchased a new position in shares of BP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in BP by 8.9% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 6,189 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BP by 1.4% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,289 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. grew its position in BP by 237.0% during the second quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 1,685 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded BP to Buy from Hold and raised its earnings and cash-flow estimates across global oil companies. The changes reflect higher forecasts for Brent crude, refining margins and natural-gas prices, improving the outlook for BP’s cash generation. HSBC shuffles oil stocks ratings, upgrades BP and TotalEnergies to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised BP to Overweight, adding to the bullish analyst momentum already supporting the shares. The upgrade reflects the view that BP has lagged peers and may have room to improve operationally and financially. BP Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase
• Positive Sentiment: BP is reportedly considering the acquisition of Devon Energy’s South Texas assets, including its Eagle Ford position. A multibillion-dollar purchase could expand BP’s U.S. oil production and strengthen its upstream portfolio, aligning with management’s focus on fewer, higher-quality assets. BP eyes Devon Energy asset amid renewed US M&A ambitions
• Neutral Sentiment: BP continues to attract attention from momentum-focused investors, with recent coverage highlighting its strong longer-term share performance and valuation potential. These reports may support sentiment but do not represent new operating results or confirmed company actions. Why BP is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term
• Negative Sentiment: The potential Devon transaction remains unconfirmed and could require substantial capital. Paying a high price or taking on additional financial and integration risk could limit the benefit to BP shareholders.

About BP

BP p.l.c. is a global integrated energy company headquartered in London, England. Its operations span the energy value chain, including exploration and production of oil and natural gas, refining, fuel marketing, energy trading and transportation. BP also produces and markets lubricants through its Castrol brand and supplies fuels through retail networks operating under brands such as BP, Aral and ampm.

The company has operations and business relationships across multiple regions, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.