BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.64.

Several research firms have commented on BP. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BP from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BP. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in BP in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in BP by 404.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in BP by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in BP by 58.7% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in BP by 9.0% in the third quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,549 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE BP opened at $34.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 433.62, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. BP has a 52-week low of $27.82 and a 52-week high of $40.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.38.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. Research analysts predict that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.54%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,375.30%.

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.