BP (NYSE:BP) Given New $32.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

BP (NYSE:BP) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $27.00 to $32.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of BP in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of BP from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $29.00 price target on BP and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on BP from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.72.

BP Price Performance

NYSE BP opened at $30.28 on Thursday. BP has a fifty-two week low of $25.22 and a fifty-two week high of $37.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.72. The firm has a market cap of $81.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -65.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $46.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.12 billion. BP had a negative net margin of 0.62% and a positive return on equity of 9.51%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.53 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, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.34%. BP’s payout ratio is presently -413.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of BP by 2,250.0% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its stake in BP by 400.0% in the first quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of BP by 178.0% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BP by 580.8% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.