BP p.l.c. (BP) – What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.90.

BP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of BP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on BP from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. UBS Group cut BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA purchased a new stake in shares of BP in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BP by 100.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new position in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Gill Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BP by 53.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at $44.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.16. BP has a 52 week low of $33.22 and a 52 week high of $51.49.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.60. BP had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 24.67%. The company had revenue of $68.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. BP’s revenue was up 41.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that BP will post 8.37 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $0.5196 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 60.59%.

BP Company Profile

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.

BP has expanded its activities beyond traditional hydrocarbons to include lower-carbon businesses such as renewable power, bioenergy, electric-vehicle charging and hydrogen.