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

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.2273.

BP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of BP from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on BP from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, October 9th. BNP Paribas raised BP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of BP from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BP by 206.0% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 252,849 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $7,568,000 after buying an additional 170,221 shares during the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC grew its stake in BP by 2,705.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 57,983 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 55,916 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,352,000. Bollard Group LLC lifted its stake in BP by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 337,724 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $10,108,000 after purchasing an additional 37,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 127,792 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $4,553,000 after purchasing an additional 23,166 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Trading Up 3.1%

BP stock opened at $35.81 on Monday. BP has a one year low of $25.22 and a one year high of $37.64. The stock has a market cap of $93.48 billion, a PE ratio of 61.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.08.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $48.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.76 billion. BP had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.4992 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This is an increase from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 341.38%.

BP Company Profile

BP plc is a British multinational integrated energy company headquartered in London. Originating in the early 20th century as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP has grown into one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, operating across exploration and production, refining and marketing, trading, and a range of low-carbon businesses.

The company’s core activities include upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream and trading operations, and downstream refining, marketing and supply of fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals.