BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.72.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BP shares. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of BP from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $38.60 to $42.30 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on BP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of BP from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of BP from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th.

BP Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BP opened at $38.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $108.48 billion, a PE ratio of 7.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21. BP has a 52 week low of $33.52 and a 52 week high of $40.84.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $52.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $53.14 billion. BP had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 7.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BP will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $0.4362 per share. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BP. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its stake in shares of BP by 0.6% in the third quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 44,396 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BP by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,245 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of BP by 5.1% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,083 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BP by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 20,715 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in BP by 1.3% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 25,905 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BP

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.