DZ Bank Downgrades BP (NYSE:BP) to Sell

DZ Bank lowered shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on BP from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Raymond James upped their target price on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.64.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP opened at $34.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.64. BP has a 52 week low of $27.82 and a 52 week high of $40.40.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 1.36%. Equities analysts forecast that BP will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.57%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 200.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BP. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the third quarter worth $5,089,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of BP by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 474,957 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $14,040,000 after acquiring an additional 110,019 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BP by 217.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 107,282 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,171,000 after acquiring an additional 73,478 shares in the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of BP by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 272,527 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $8,056,000 after buying an additional 38,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP in the third quarter worth $857,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Company Profile

BP p.l.c. provides carbon products and services. The company operates through Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production & Operations, and Customers & Products segments. It engages in the production of natural gas, and integrated gas and power; trading of gas; operation of onshore and offshore wind power, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage facilities; trading and marketing of renewable and non-renewable power; and production of crude oil.