BP p.l.c. $BP Shares Bought by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 25.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 181,424 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after buying an additional 37,175 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in BP were worth $7,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Claro Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in BP during the third quarter valued at $203,000. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $445,000. Cowa LLC raised its holdings in shares of BP by 37.0% during the third quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 17,536 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 4,736 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,488,000. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BP by 652.7% in the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,697 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP completed the sale of a stake in Castrol for about $6 billion. The deal advances BP’s portfolio simplification plans and provides funds that could support debt reduction, a potential balance-sheet positive. BP Completes $6B Castrol Stake Sale: A Boost to Its Balance Sheet?
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity was notably bullish: investors bought 31,614 BP call options on Tuesday, about 76% above the typical daily volume. This signals increased demand for upside exposure, though options trading does not guarantee a share-price move.
• Neutral Sentiment: BP is set to lead a substantial seismic survey in Namibia after completing a farm-in deal with Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas. The program could help identify future exploration opportunities, but any commercial benefit remains uncertain and would depend on results and further development. BP to launch big seismic shoot in Namibia after farm-in deal completes
• Neutral Sentiment: BP agreed to exit its Indonesian fuel-retail joint venture by selling its 49.9% stake to partner AKR for about $14.2 million. The move fits its portfolio-simplification efforts, but the reported sale proceeds are modest and the exit also gives up exposure to that retail business. BP sells 49.9% stake in Indonesian petrol station venture, partner firm says

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BP. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BP from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BP from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on BP in a report on Thursday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on BP from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.90.

BP Price Performance

BP stock opened at $44.56 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.25. BP p.l.c. has a 12-month low of $33.22 and a 12-month high of $51.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $116.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.16.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $68.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.14 billion. BP had a return on equity of 24.67% and a net margin of 3.74%. BP’s revenue was up 41.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.5196 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

About BP

BP p.l.c. is a global integrated energy company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its operations span the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, as well as the processing, refining, transportation and marketing of energy products. Through its businesses, BP supplies fuels for road transportation, aviation and marine use, along with lubricants marketed under the Castrol brand. The company also operates retail fuel and convenience locations and provides energy products and services to commercial and industrial customers.